Lighthouse
by alliegranger13
Summary: AU. When Kairi is invited to attend the most prestigious school the worlds have to offer, she encounters a bright, rebellious and mysterious young man by the name of Sora. Will she be able to unlock his secrets and free his chains, or be forever lost in his reputation? Pairing: Sokai. Will contain cameos by other characters! Story is better than summary, I promise, haha :)
1. Chapter 1

Kairi had always been the top of her class, ever since kindergarten. She never handed assignments in late and always strived to do the very best she could. Only once in her life had she gotten anything less than an A—in second grade she got a B, but only because she'd been ill and missed several days of school—and when her class was given a partner assignment, everyone wanted to be paired up with her. Not only was she known for her intelligence throughout Destiny Islands, but she was known for her kindness; raised by her father—a low wage fisherman—she was extremely modest, polite, and accepting. Everyone in her area of the island knew who she was, knew how light her soul was. She was beloved by everyone she encountered.

Kairi had dreamt about going to _Destiny Academy For The Young And Gifted_—the number one school throughout all of the worlds—ever since she was four years old. The Academy was known for only accepting truly gifted children, and for scholarly children like Kairi, it was a dream come true.

An impossible dream, though. Although she had good grades, she was sure she'd never be accepted—the Academy had ridiculously high standards.

The Academy was practically pulled directly out of a book or movie. The school itself was a massive old castle, situated in the rolling hills amongst Destiny Island's giant mountains. When you first arrived, you were met with a giant cast iron gate; after that, the winding path—lined with weeping willows and beautiful, whimsical flowers—lead you up through the winding, green hills towards the school. To the right, there was the stables and several large pastures; trails wound their way into the forested areas, giving students the chance to go for long trail rides. To the left of the school was the crystal-clear mountain lake; the water was the color of emeralds, and students could take canoe rides, swim, walk along the pier, or even take out one of the boats tucked into the boathouse. Hidden behind the school and camouflaged by more trees was the swimming hole, where students often swam in the hot summer days; a large tree with a rope hung overhead. The school grounds were neat, perfectly trimmed. Cobblestone paths lead from each building—there were dozens of buildings spaced amongst the rolling hills of the green mountainside: dorm buildings, libraries, swimming pools, indoor tennis courts—eventually all leading up to the main hall, where classes were located.

The interior of the school was no less luxurious than the exterior. Despite its rustic, castle outside, the inside of the school had been completely redone. The walls were a rich mahogany, panelled the entire length of the school; huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling, brightening the entire place. Up on the third floor were the dormitories; up there, the walls were the original stone and the floors were beautiful maple. There were about four hundred dorms—two hundred boys, two hundred girls—and each room held two roommates. The dorms were vast, looking more like expensive hotel suites than school rooms.

Destiny Academy had been ranked as the number one school worldwide for the past fifteen years. The school had extremely high academic standards, only accepting a slim few who impressed them. To get into the school, an application had to be delivered to the headmaster; only people with the highest of marks moved on to the next stage. If you met the academic standards, you were then invited to do an interview; the headmaster would ask you several questions and chat with you, judging you on your character. If you didn't fit the Academy bill, you were rejected feverishly. If you were accepted, you moved into the dorms immediately—after paying the high costs it took to get in.

However, there was another way to get into Destiny Academy. Sometimes, rather than the student applying for the school, the headmaster and her staff would scout at the students themselves. They would track them from a young age, looking for bright youngsters; as the child got older, they would keep tabs on their marks and attitudes. Then, once they were of age, the Academy would send them a letter, inviting them to join the schools ranks, no payment necessary. Being _invited_ to the Academy was one of the highest academic honours there was.

And that is exactly what happened to Kairi.

She slipped her hand into the mailbox, fiddling around until she could wrap her hand around the oddly large amount of mail they'd received. She struggled to pull every piece of paper out, grunting as she did so; she flipped the lid closed, skimming over the addresses on the letters. Bills, bills, bills…and then, something else. Something new.

She read over the envelope, unsure. She tore it open, reading over the thick parchment paper folded within; instantaneously, her head broke out into a sprint, her face lighting up. "_Dad!"_ She screamed, causing the neighbours to give her a few odd glances. She clutched the mail to her chest, running back up the walk and into their little beach shack. "Dad, you'll never guess what we just got!"

Her dad was sitting on the couch, watching television. He frowned, peering up at his only daughter. "What is it, sweetie?"

Kairi held up the thick paper, the ink sprawled across it in perfect swirls. "I just got invited to Destiny Academy, dad," She cried, her throat tightening up, threatening to spill tears from her eyes. "A full-paid scholarship. They scouted me."

Her dad's eyes widened, and he stood; she handed him the paper and his pale blue eyes skimmed over the words, eyebrows tugging down in concentration. After a few minutes—he seemed to be reading _awfully_ slowly—he blinked twice, glanced up, then back down at the paper. "Well…" He trailed off.

"Please, Dad?" She begged, grabbing his wrist and clutching to him. "Please, can I go? It's the best school to _exist_ and it's _free_ and they _want_ me and you know how big of a deal this school is to me, you've gotta let me go—it's far away, I know but I'll write to you, and—"

"Kairi," Her father chuckled. "You can go. This is great."

A high-pitched scream tore from her throat, causing her father to slap his hands over his ears. "Dad! Thank you so much, I love you, I can't believe this, you're the best!"

He smiled. "I know."

She let out another wail of excitement, then tore up to her bedroom. She reread the letter twenty five times, memorizing every single word. She called all of her friends, informing them of the good news. She slammed her head against the wall a couple times, trying to tell if this was all just a beautiful dream that she'd thought up. A purple bruise began to form on her forehead. She supposed that meant that this was reality.

She didn't sleep a wink that night.


	2. Chapter 2

"Welcome, Kairi, to Destiny Academy!" The woman smiled, although it seemed rather forced. She was beautiful—and young, too, probably only in her thirties—with her brown hair pulled back in a tight bun. She wore a grey and white cardigan and skirt, her lips painted a deep red; her brown eyes seemed oddly wise, professional. She was ridiculously intimidating. "I'm the Dean here, at the Academy. Congratulations, and welcome to our school!"

Kairi's jaw was slack, and she was peering around the school campus, blue eyes wider than they'd ever been. She'd lived her entire life on the far end of Destiny Islands, but she'd never seen quite a sight like this: tropical mountains, palm trees with coconuts growing among them, flowers blooming into colors she didn't think could exist. Everything was even more beautiful than she'd expected; the buildings had exquisite architecture, the fields and meadows mowed to perfection. Every single thing about the place was wonderful. She didn't think she could speak.

The woman—_the Dean_—gestured towards the huge, giant-like doors of the main building. As soon as they entered, Kairi became even more shocked; giant crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings high above, giving the place a golden glow. The walls were high, their beautiful brick reaching skyward; the floors were a dark wood, so shiny that she swore she could see her reflection in each panel.

"As much fun as I want your experience here to be," The Dean spoke up, intelligence and sophistication radiating from her voice, "There _are_ rules. They aren't hard to understand."

Kairi simply nodded, her words still caught in her throat.

"You'll have a copy of the rulebook in your dorm, but I'll give you a run-through right now." They walked down the corridor, pictures of past deans hung on the walls. "One of our main rules is that uniforms are worn at all times."

Kairi glanced down at her outfit; a pink dress with a white tank top underneath. She glanced back up at the Dean.

The older woman laughed; it felt fake. "No worries, my dear. Your uniform will be in your bedroom, already matched to fit your size." She let out a breath, her heels clicking as they sauntered through the place. "Our second rule—_which is one of the most important_—is that you keep your grades up. If you fall below an 85%-which is quite low, in our standards—you will immediately be removed from the Academy, and sent back home. Is that clear?"

Kairi swallowed. "Yes."

"Good," The Dean smiled again. "Another rule: no dating, _no exceptions_. If there is any hint of romance, both persons in question shall be punished. We at the Academy believe romance simply distracts from what truly matters—academics. Understood?"

"Understood."

They took a turn down the corridor, leading them to a large wooden door, one that looked almost medieval; the Dean lead them through it, and to Kairi's surprise, they were suddenly outdoors. The hot sun shone down on them, and birds could be heard whistling from the treetops; the two pressed on, following one of the dozens of windy cobblestone trails.

Eventually, they arrived at a different building, one that was quite a bit smaller but nonetheless beautiful. It was surrounded by lush trees and pretty flowers, which lightened the appearance of the dark, grey stone that created its walls; it looked like a smaller version of a castle.

"This will be your dorm building," The Dean said, turning to face Kairi outside of the front door. "Lights are out at nine o'clock, no exceptions. Each dormer has their own, single room, therefore there will be no need for sleepovers of any sort. Is that _clear?_"

"Crystal," Kairi responded, trying to keep her tone polite. She was beginning to dislike the Dean more and more every second.

"Fantastic. I'll leave you to it, then. Here's your schedule. You begin classes tomorrow," She gave her a strict nod, handing her a thick envelope. "Your dorm-mates will assist you. Again, welcome to Destiny Academy." With that, she walked off, back towards where they came from, heels clicking against the cobblestone.

Kairi blinked, her feet unmoving. She peered up at the large door of her dorm building, for the first time feeling a little bit hesitant; if everyone here was anything like the Dean, she'd be having a terrible year. Knowing she couldn't put off the inevitable, she grabbed the heavy door and stepped inside, silently hoping for the best.

What lay inside was nothing that she'd expected.

There was no dark mahogany walls or rich, imported wood flooring; instead, the place looked rather bright and cheerful. The walls were white wooden panels, and the floor was a light, sand colored wood; although the main entrance was deserted, Kairi could hear chatting down the hall, mixed with the soft tune of some music.

Before she could make her way towards the sound of people, a girl turned down the hall, stepping out towards where Kairi was; her eyes widened, and she looked at Kairi with interest.

"Are you the new girl?" She asked, her voice sounding similar to bells. Her hair was a pale blonde, contrasting vividly against her even paler skin; her eyes, blue as the sky, seemed happy.

"Yeah," She nodded in response. "I'm Kairi."

The girl grinned. "Nice to meet you, Kairi—I'm Namine. Come on, there's food in the sitting room." Grabbing Kairi by the arm, she gently lead her down the hall.

Almost immediately, Kairi hit it off with Namine and the rest of her dorm-mates. Much to her relief, she discovered that not a single person was like the Dean; in fact, most of them resented the strictness of the place. All of her roomies had great senses of humour and were fun to be around; the group sat around the sitting room for hours, snacking on fruit and cookies, telling stories and explaining the basics to Kairi.

"The Dean makes it seem like rules are pretty tight around here, but it's really not half bad," Olette, a girl with a soft-spoken voice said, smiling from her seat. "I mean, you have to wear your uniform whenever your outside your dorm and you can't let your grades slip even a little bit, but you get to have fun."

"You do?" Kairi asked. "How so?"

"On the last Friday of every month, there's this big dance thrown," Namine smiled sweetly, her eyes glazing over dreamily. "The theme changes every time. It's great."

"Yeah," Aqua added afterwards. "And at least once a week, all the boys and girls head to the Emerald Lake and have a little beach party."

Xion, the girl with black hair who seemed relatively quiet, spoke up. Her lips twisted up into a small, shy smile. "The people really make it worthwhile," She nodded, as if agreeing with herself.

Namine laughed; it was light and airy sounding. "Wait 'till you meet Roxas."

Kairi's blue eyes flickered up. "Roxas?"

"Yeah. He's the best—you'll love him."

Aqua laughed. "He's sort of like our little mascot—he spends most of his time over here."

Kairi grinned; the idea of making friends sort of excited her. "Can't wait," She said, and she knew it was the truth.

"It's so nice to have someone new," Namine sighed happily. "Really livens up the place."

Olette gave Kairi a warm smile; she couldn't help but feel that Olette was a natural care-taker. "We'll help you out—show you where your classes are, what teachers you want to like you, which kids to avoid."

"There's people I should avoid?" Kairi blinked. Coming here, she'd assumed that everyone was the highest calibre of excellence; she didn't think there would be any people to not befriend. She'd figured there wouldn't be any riff-raff in the Academy.

Namine snorted. "Of course there is."

"Oh. Like who?"

"Well," Namine shrugged. "There's this one girl, Leelu, who smells awful. Rumor is, she doesn't bathe."

All of the girls snickered gently; Xion had a small smirk.

Kairi laughed. "And she still goes here? I thought they would've kicked her out by now."

"That's the mystery," Aqua nodded. "She _should_ have been kicked out by now, but she's been here two years—and _nothing_. I heard that she was related to the Dean, and that's why she hasn't been booted out yet."

"The Dean can do that?"

Xion's voice was soft. "The Dean can do anything."

"Oh," replied Kairi thoughtfully. "Anyone else I should stay away from?"

"I can't think of any others right now," Namine hummed, tapping her chin. "But they'll come to me. I'll let you know them when I see 'em."

"Thanks," Kairi giggled, her grip tightening around the thick envelope the Dean had given her, holding her class schedule.

"No problem," Namine said, yawning. She pulled herself to her feet, stretching as she did so; she offered her hand to Kairi, helping her up from her seat on the sofa. "C'mon—I'll show you your room."

As Kairi was lead through the dorm building, she was once again struck by the beauty of the place; the white walls were furnished with pictures of the gang, playing in the Emerald Lake or posing outside the front of the building. For the first time, it actually seemed to hit her that she was here, attending this school, meeting this people. This was her dream, and it'd come true.

"This is yours," Namine spoke, her voice sweet. "Mine's right across the hall. If you need any help with anything, just ask. We'll all be downstairs."

Kairi nodded; waiting until Namine skipped off to glance at her new bedroom. When she did, she was not disappointed; the walls were the same as the rest of the house, white panels, clean and sharp. There was a large window on the far wall, one that overlooked the front yard of the building; from there, there was a beautiful view of the valleys below the mountain the campus was perched on, and the oceans beyond that. On the left wall, there was a bed; it was white, plain, but big and spacious. To the right, a dresser; when she opened its drawers, she was met with a mixture of uniform pieces: pants, skirts, dresses, sweaters, polos, and long sleeved shirts. Sitting herself down on her bed, Kairi tried to wrap her mind around everything, trying to comprehend it all. It felt like a dream—a good, warm dream.

She couldn't believe she was here.


	3. Chapter 3

Kairi groaned, the thick piece of paper feeling heavy in her hand. "_Drama_ class? I thought this school was strictly academic!" Her heart sunk in her chest, her blue eyes narrowed in disappointment as she glared at her schedule.

Namine laughed, but there was a hint of sympathy in it. "Consider yourself lucky. I have dance class."

The two girls strolled through the campus, which was vibrant and alive compared to when Kairi first arrived; students filled the cobblestone pathways and benches, all dressed in their uniforms. A warm, tropical breeze washed over the place, rustling the leaves of the beautiful trees; birds sung from high above, tinkling over the sounds of hundreds of individual conversation from the students.

"Is there any way I can opt out?" Kairi asked, her stomach clenching. There was _no_ way she was attending drama class without a fight—she'd never been much of an actress. She was a terrible liar. "You know, switch classes or something?"

Namine snorted at the idea. "Sure—you can place a report for altering your schedule," Her tone was sly, "And the _board of directors_ looks at it. You'd have to go to the school's court, plead your case, file papers, convince the board with a legitimate reason to switch classes…"

"Sounds like it's hard to do."

"It is," Namine said, taking a sip from the coffee she'd bought earlier that morning, from the campus café. "No one has actually managed to switch a class in the history of this place." With a sigh, she added, "Just another way for the Dean to gain control."

Kairi wrapped her fingers around her coffee a bit more tightly. Despite the warm breeze, the morning was still a bit chilly; the air was crisp on the mountain, colder than it would be in her little house on the beach, with her dad. "What's the deal with her?" Kairi asked. "The Dean?"

They strolled through the campus, their gait slow. As they made their way, several people called out greetings to Namine; she waved in response, grinning. Safe to say, Namine was a pretty popular student.

She shrugged. "She just has a lady-boner for control," Her voice was tinged with sarcasm as she spoke. "I like to think she had a rough childhood, and that's why she'd such a cold-hearted bitch. Or that she hasn't gotten laid in a decade."

Kairi smirked; they pulled off of the pathway, walking across the dewy grass towards a pond. Students were scattered across the grass, sitting on blankets, chatting, drinking and eating; the two girls pulled up to a blanket, where a boy with blonde hair lay, eyes closed.

Namine poked him with her foot. "Wake up, sleepy."

The boy's nose crinkled and he groaned; he blinked a couple times before his eyes peered up at the blonde. When he spoke, his voice was deep. "You know, Namine, it's _rude_ to wake a person."

She let out a sigh, then plopped down beside him on the blanket; he scooted over, pulling himself to a sitting position. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm naturally rude. You should have accepted it by now." She let out a breath of laughter. "Besides, you need to meet Kairi. She's my new roomie."

The boy's pale eyes flickered up to Kairi, looking at her with interest; he seemed to deliberate internally for a moment, deciding whether or not he approved of her. Then, his lips broke out into a bright smile, and he nodded at her. "I'm Roxas."

Kairi's lips morphed into a smile in response, glad to be accepted by the boy. "Kairi."

"So," He smiled, slumping back on his back and tossing his arms behind his head, leaning on them. "What's your schedule? Maybe we have classes together."

"Advanced chemistry, Latin, advanced English, and drama."

Roxas grimaced. "Ooh. Drama—that's rough. But, hey, we have chemistry together."

Kairi let out a sigh of relief; she'd been kind of scared about going to her first class completely alone—but now she didn't have to. "What times does class even start?"

"In about half an hour," Namine said, peering at her watch. "Ten o'clock. The nice thing about this place is that they start classes pretty late—gives you enough time to get ready."

"Yeah," Roxas laughed. "But not everyone takes an hour and a half to do their hair, Namine."

She hit his shoulder playfully. "Quit exaggerating—I only take an hour."

Roxas grinned at her. "That's not true—what about at the Spring Formal? I had to sit in the livingroom for two and a half hours, waiting. Thank god Olette was there to keep me company, or I would have died of boredom."

"That's different—it was a _formal_. You have to look perfect."

He rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath quiet enough that Namine didn't hear. "You always look perfect, you dingbat."

Namine took the last sip of her coffee, staring glumly at her empty cup and sighing heavily. "I think I'm in love with coffee."

Kairi snorted, sitting on the blanket across from the two blondes.

"Yeah? Then why don't you marry it?" Roxas spat sarcastically.

Namine narrowed her eyes. "What, are you a kindergartener?"

"Excuse me, but _who_ is the one taking university level calculus?" He retorted with a smile. "Oh, right. Me."

"Ugh," The blonde grimaced back, "Don't remind me. I'm so ashamed."

Kairi laughed. "So, are grades super important around here?"

Roxas nodded. "Pretty much. If you get below an 85% in a class, you get kicked out."

"So I've heard," Kairi murmured, remembering when the Dean had informed her of that rule.

"Not to mention, intelligence is sort of like popularity around here," Namine added, her blue eyes big and honest. "The higher your grades, the better off you are. Like those kids, over there." She said, nodding towards a large group of students sitting below a big tree, "Those are the B's."

A frown flickered onto Kairi's pale face. "The _B's?_"

"Yeah. They were the ones that were smart enough to get in, but _just_ linger on the 85% line. Not low enough to get kicked out, but not particularly great, especially in the standards that the Academy has."

Her eyebrows lifted, surprised; she found it odd that grades were the basis of cliques. Back home, it was appearance that had raised or lowered a kid a level or two. "Oh."

"See that girl, sitting on that bench?" Roxas spoke gently, eyes flickering towards said person. He continued once Kairi glanced over at the girl, who had her nose stuffed into the thickest book she'd ever seen. "She's an _above_."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Do I even need to ask?"

Namine laughed her tinkly, bell-like giggle. "_Aboves_ are the geniuses. Above the standard," She took a moment to glance at the girl. "The highest you can get—everyone wants to know them, be seen with them."

"_But_," Roxas piped in, finishing Namine's point. "Since they have to study so hard to get the grades they do, they hardly have time to socialize." He sighed. "It's a perpetual struggle. Us, over here—and them, over there."

"Why does everyone want to be friends with the aboves?"

"Because, Kairi!" Namine cried dramatically, garnering a few stares from passersby. "Only _aboves_ are seen with _aboves_. If we were friends with her, that'd boost our social cred _and_ probably boost our marks, considering how much they study."

Kairi smirked, amused by Namine's theatrics. "Why don't you just go talk to her then?"

Namine stared at her, blue eyes wide and shocked; her jaw fell open, slack. She stared for a moment, then turned to Roxas. "She's hopeless."

Roxas laughed. "A lost cause," He nodded, agreeing.

"Kairi, you can't just _talk_ to an above—not when you're a lower class. Pull your head outta your ass."

Kairi shook her head, laughing. "You're kidding me, right?" She blinked, staring at the two. "This is for real? You're not just pulling my leg?"

"Would I kid you about this?"

She shook her head, astounded. "I feel like I'm in a bad made-for-tv movie."

Namine pounded her hand into the blanket, beginning to grin at her own overly dramatic approach to things. "Welcome to the real world, Kairi!"

"Okay, okay," Kairi snorted, amused by the way things worked around here. If she told her friends back home, they'd never believe her. "So, if _those_ are the B's—and _those_ are the aboves…what are you?"

Namine sighed heavily. "We, my dear friend, are the lowly A's."

"Hey—don't sell yourself short. At least your not a B," Kairi joked, tone lighthearted and teasing.

Namine stuck to the dramatic side of things. "True. Alas, the struggle is still real."

Roxas rolled his eyes, ignoring the blonde; he glanced at Kairi. "Keep in mind, you're an A now, too. You should feel just as torn up inside as Namine."

Namine gave an emotional, shaky sigh, almost to acknowledge the truth behind Roxas' words.

"Oh, believe me, I am," Kairi nodded, playing along. "My poor, achey-breaky heart. How will I survive, only being a _lowly_ A?"

Namine rested her hand on Kairi's shoulder, her expression twisted up into one of mock sadness. "The only way there _is_ to survive, my dear: by eating lots and lots of chocolate."

Roxas sighed, glancing down at his watch. "Class starts in fifteen minutes," His voice sounded dreary and tired all of a sudden. "C'mon, Kairi—I'll introduce you to a few people while we're there."

"Sure," She nodded, pulling herself up from the ground.

Roxas leaned over, pressing his lips to Namine's cheek, then pulled himself to standing position. "Seeya, Nami."

Namine's cheeks flushed a little. "Have fun, you two. Meet me at the quad for lunch!"

Before class, Roxas graciously introduced Kairi to a couple of his friends—Selphie, Hayner, Pence and Yuffie—dubbing her 'the cool new one that he likes very, very much', much to Kairi's pleasure.

The class itself was a lot different than what she'd expected. Taught more like a university course than a highschool one, the teacher lectured in the big hall for the entire class, and the students took notes; Roxas explained to Kairi that they usually took notes for a couple weeks, then had a big test on them. In between these lectures, they would have labs, where they would conduct experiments. He warned her to study the notes a lot, pay attention in class and re-read lap preparations the night before. She nodded, thanking the heavens that she'd met him, glad to have someone to help her prepare.

After class, Roxas lead her to her next block, Latin. He was rushed—he didn't want to be late for his next block; he said something about punishments being particularly rough for that—but promised to come and pick her up after class, and bring her to the quad to have lunch with the gang. She thanked him, again feeling oddly blessed that he was a new friend of hers.

Latin class was a bit different from chemistry. Rather than lecturing, it was a lot smaller in scale; there were only about thirty kids in the class. The teacher informed Kairi of the single rule in the class: you could say whatever you wanted, as long as it was in Latin. The class was spent with the teacher explaining and repeating Latin words, using them in sentences; she handed out Latin dictionaries, asking kids to look up words so that they could converse with her. The boy behind Kairi—she wasn't sure who it was, she hadn't looked—spent the rest of the class looking up dirty phrases and swear words, spitting them out in Latin, sounding like he'd never had more fun.

Once the bell—which was literally a bell; the bell tower clanged loudly to signify the block was over—rang, Kairi gathered her things and slipped out of the room. Being true to his word, Roxas awaited outside the classroom, leaning against the wall.

"Hey!" He grinned. "How was Latin?"

Kairi offered him a sly smile. "Longinquus."

"Ah," He chuckled. "You're funny. Latin. I get it."

She hugged her binder to her chest. "I know. So, where to?"

"The quad," He explained, leading Kairi through a maze of corridors and corners, thoroughly confusing her sense of direction. "The gang will be there—but you've already met them. The girls."

"Oh," Kairi nodded. "Yeah."

Within a minute or so, they'd broken free of the constraints of the tall, stone building; now, they were walking across the big, green lawns, towards a large courtyard that lay beyond the doors of a different castle-like building. Sitting at one of the large tables was the entire group—Namine, Olette, Xion, Aqua, Selphie, Hayner, Pence, everyone. Kairi and Roxas sat down, joining them.

"Here," Xion spoke softly, handing over a small dish of fruit to Kairi. "For lunch. I packed some for you."

"Oh," Kairi said, meeting Xion's gaze. She could see how shy the black-haired girl was, and for some reason, this action seemed to mean quite a lot. "Thanks a lot, Xion."

Everyone ate, chatting and sharing stories as they did so; the entire lunch reminded her of her lunches back home, sitting with her friends in their school cafeteria, eating the disgusting food that the cafeteria lady boiled up each day. Kairi began to feel a bit homesick, but it didn't last for long—her thoughts were interrupted and wiped out when she saw a boy stride past the courtyard, lead and followed by security guards.

She frowned, watching him go past. "Whose that?" She murmured, watching the boy carefully. He had spiky brown hair and a long, lean body; he seemed to be chatting with the guards, an outgoing grin plastered across his face. His expression was happy, joyful; she didn't think she'd ever seen someone so outwardly happy. The sight of his smile made the corners of her lips turn up, made her stomach feel warm and nice. The guards, on the other hand, also seemed to be having a hard time not grinning at whatever it was he was saying.

Roxas' eyes flickered to the spiky haired boy, as he slipped from view. "Sora," He said, mouth full of whatever it was he was eating. "He's in my dorm."

Kairi lips turned up at the corners, intrigued. _Sora_. What a nice name. "What was with the security guards?"

A frown flickered across Namine's face, and she searched Kairi's expression for a long moment. "Trust me—you do _not_ want to get near that kid."

"Why? Is he a B?" Kairi joked, teasing.

The entire table seemed to snort at that, but not for the reason she'd intended; Namine shook her head. "He's _worse_ than a B."

Kairi's eyebrows tugged down. "Lower than a B? Shouldn't he be kicked out, then?"

"Yeah," Aqua spoke up from the opposite side of the table. "He _should_. That's the mysterious part. He fails almost every course, skips nearly every class, but he's still here. No one knows why or how."

"Have you ever asked him?" Kairi said blankly, forgetting that the entire subject of interacting with different grades of social classes wasn't the norm.

Selphie's eyes grew wide. "_Ask him? _I wouldn't even _speak_ to him."

"Just because he's not an A?" Kairi fought, a little bit stung by the close-mindedness of her new friends.

"No, no," Namine shook her head. "It's not that he's not an A. He's just…trouble. He's attending the best school in the _universe_, and he doesn't care about his grades? That's a bit weird, don't you think?"

"Add the fact that no one knows absolutely anything about him, and it's a very blurry picture," Olette nodded. "He's just sort of this big…mystery, you know? Why is he still here? Why did he come here in the first place?"

"Wait a second," Kairi said, frowning; she was aware of the cold chill that had wrapped itself around the table. "Why don't you guys like him?"

Namine's light voice answered for all of them. "He's a big mystery. Mysteries are distractions. In a place like this, you can't afford to have even the slightest slip up. He's just bad news."

Selphie's innocent voice was bright. "I heard he slept with the Dean," She nodded matter-of-factly, "And that's why he's still in here. She's wrapped around his little finger."

"I heard he killed the last Dean, and he threatened to kill the current one, so she can't kick him out," Aqua retaliated.

Roxas rolled his eyes. "You guys are terrible gossips. Don't listen to 'em, Kairi."

"Alright then, _smarty pants_," Namine turned to the blonde boy. "If you live with him, tell us the truth. What's his deal?"

Roxas scoffed. "Hell if I know," He muttered. "But he's never been a problem. He keeps to himself. I like that."

"Have you ever talked to him?" Selphie asked.

"Yeah, a couple times," He shrugged nonchalantly. "He seems fine to me. Not a bad guy. If you got caught up with him, sure, he's probably trouble—but from a distance, not bothersome."

Namine narrowed her eyes, turning back to her food. "I think he's bad. Anyone who has guards escorting him places isn't anyone I'd ever like to meet."

Kairi stabbed a piece of fruit with her fork, staring at it for a long moment before chewing it slowly. She couldn't quite comprehend how that boy—_Sora_—could be seen as someone bad. She'd seen him smile at the guards; he'd looked friendly, happy, _alive_. How could someone like that be bad?

She chewed on the inside of her cheek for the rest of lunch, no longer aware of the conversation that took place before her. Her mind felt blurry, soft and mushy, her thoughts swirling about a single thing.

Sora.


	4. Chapter 4

Drama. The class she'd been dreading the entire day had finally arrived.

Kairi had never been a good liar—in fact, she was awful at it. Even little things, like saying a friend's shirt looked nice even when it was a bit too snug at the hips, she couldn't manage. Her cheeks would go a tomato-sauce red and her palms would get hot and sweaty; her eyes would flicker up from the floor to the ceiling, refusing to land on the individual she was speaking to. Not only was she bad at it, but she hated doing it. She didn't like saying anything but the truth. It made her feel bad.

So how the hell was she supposed to pass drama class with over an 85%?

The teacher, Mr. Hale, was one of those overly-peppy, far too excited, extremely smiley people. Kairi supposed it was something to appreciate, a teacher really _wanting_ to teach his students, but then she reminded herself that this was _drama_. Her bitterness quickly replaced any hope she'd had.

Mr. Hale clapped his hands together, standing front and centre on the stage. He stood directly in one beam of spotlight, the only thing lighting the large theatre; the rest of the large room—where the students sat in chairs—was dim, dark. Kairi couldn't see very well, but she doubted that there was more than twenty five people in the class.

_Great_, she thought to herself as Mr. Hale hurtled himself into his introductory speech. _A personal drama class. Barf._

"This class is going to be based on the idea of expressing emotions hidden deep within us, and painting it on our faces. Now, this isn't going to be _hard_, per say, but it's going to take some effort." He peered around the dark theatre, as if he could see the students. "First thing's first: for the next few weeks, we'll be getting to know one another, gaining each other's trust. Trust is the key to acting; you need to know your partner will catch you when you fall."

He made his way over the black curtain that framed the stage, reaching behind it and flicking on the lights; suddenly, the room was lit and bright, causing all of the students to cringe and groan, covering their eyes from the brightness.

"I've assigned partners, ones that you will keep for the next few weeks." He paused. "And if you do not get along with your partner, I have one thing to say to you:_ that's showbiz_. Let's get to it, then."

He began to list off names, and people met down at the stage, standing off to the left awkwardly. Simultaneously, Kairi began to have a silent inner panic attack; being partnered up with someone she didn't know _and_ having to act with them? This class really wasn't her cup of tea.

Within a couple seconds, her name was called. Her heart thundered in her chest, awaiting her partner to be called, silently praying that it was someone she knew (although she doubted that, considering she knew about seven people and they all had English and Biology).

"Kairi and Sora," Mr. Hale called out, continuing down the list without a moments hesitation. Kairi blinked, a bit surprised.

Sora?

Slowly, she made her way down to the stage, legs a bit wobbly. She wasn't sure if this was because she had to stand up in front of other people—another one of her least favourite things—or if it was because, oddly enough, she'd been paired with the strange boy who'd caught her interest at lunch.

Before she knew what was going on, she stumbling her way up the steps to the stage, the lights suddenly a lot brighter and warm.

"Kairi?" A voice asked.

She turned to face it, surprised to see her partner staring at her with curiosity. Up close, he was even more interesting than he had been before; his hair was spikier than she'd thought, his skin soft looking. His voice was deeper than she'd imagined. Most shocking, however, was the color of his eyes; they instantly reminded her of the color of the ocean—_her ocean_—back home, outside her dad's little beach shack.

Kairi nodded, trying to gather herself again. "Are you Sora?" She asked, although she knew _exactly_ who he was.

"Yeah," He replied, a strange quality to his voice that Kairi couldn't quite pinpoint.

Interrupting their introductions, Mr. Hale clapped his hands together once more; Kairi and Sora turned, their elbows and shoulders brushing against one another. All of the pairings stood awkwardly, each one not knowing the other.

"Take a seat on the floor, everyone." He instructed, and everyone sat beside their partners. "First things first—you have to know your acting partner, understand them. For the next couple minutes, _learn_ about each other! Try and understand where they come from, how they behave, their outlook. This is about digging into one another's personal space, people!" He clapped again. So much clapping. "These partners will be who you act with for the rest of this class. _Know_ who they are. Go!"

Everyone turned awkwardly to their partners, each student wearing the same expression—that apologetic half smile that acknowledged the awkwardness but didn't make it any better—except for Sora.

Sora's face was totally calm, not even the slightest bit awkward. He didn't seem bothered by having to be paired up with a stranger. In fact, he seemed sort of…_happy_. He turned to Kairi, ocean eyes—that's the nickname she'd begun to call him by in her head. _Ocean eyes._—lit up.

"You're in my Latin class," He chuckled lightly, his eyes focused on her intently that it she couldn't help but blush. There was something about the way he spoke, the way he looked at her—it gave off the impression that he valued her words, that he really wanted to listen. She found it odd.

Kairi's eyebrows lifted. "You are?" She blinked. She hadn't seen him in her class—if she'd known, she definitely would have paid more attention in class.

He nodded. "I sit behind you."

She tucked a piece of her auburn hair behind her ear, thinking for a moment. "Behind me?" She repeated, a smirk flickering onto her lips. "Are you the kid that was saying boobs in Latin the entire class?"

Sora laughed; Kairi couldn't help but notice how contagious his happiness was. "To be fair, I also translated _verpa_."

She snorted; verpa meant erect penis. "I know. I heard you giggling for an hour straight."

Around them, the other couples were beginning to chat, awkwardly trying to complete the assignment as quickly as possible. They were telling their partner their life story—where they were from, who they lived with, what their favourite things were—all in the span of about a minute.

Kairi turned to Sora, eyes washing over his eased expression. Even when his face was blank, he seemed happy. No—not happy. Just naturally bright, joyful, as though he was his own beam of sunshine.

"Here, everyone!" Mr. Hale said, walking from group to group, dropping off pieces of paper and pencils. "Getting to know your partner involves knowing their faces. I want you to get to know your partners expression, their eyes and their emotions. So, here is your first project, due at the end of class. Draw your partner! As you do so, continue to learn about them. Talk with them. Let's have fun with this!" _Clap clap_.

Kairi grabbed the pencil, twisting it between her fingers. She held it for a moment, then peered up at the boy in front of her; her eyes ran along face, debating which part of him to begin with.

Sora did the same, although he was not delicate with his drawing; each stroke of his pencil was dark and strong, his blue eyes constantly flickering up to her face every so often. He'd begun with her hair, scratching it out heavily and messily. His interpretation of her looked like a seven year old had drawn it.

Kairi, on the other hand, had begun with his eyes. Her lines were soft, delicate; each line was swoopy and curvy and perfectly in line with how she wanted it to be. Once she got to his hair, she began doing erratic lines, making her drawing a bit more realistic looking. Occasionally, she would glance over to his drawing, trying to hide her pleased smile. It was cute.

While everyone else stuttered through stiff conversation, Sora and Kairi stayed silent; it wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but rather an easy, warm one where the quietness seemed to be a mutual agreement.

After a couple more minutes of lovely silence, Sora's gaze flickered over to Kairi's picture; his face was all twisted up in a concentrated little frown, his eyebrows tugged down over his blue eyes and his lips pressed out in a small pout. He looked up at her and their eyes locked; he gave her a small nod, complimenting her drawing without even saying the words. She looked down at his, then stifled a laugh. He raised an eyebrow, as if to say '_shut up_' and then they both returned to their own drawings, slipping back into the easy lull that they'd created.

Kairi had never felt so comfortable with silence before.

At the end of class, they both handed in their drawings: Sora's, scratchy and child-like, and Kairi's delicate and soft and artsy. Mr. Hale seemed impressed, although Kairi wasn't sure why. They walked out of the room together, breaking into the deserted, desolate corridor.

Sora's blue eyes flickered to Kairi's, and his voice was tame, pleasant. "See you tomorrow?" He asked, a strange hope in his eyes.

Kairi nodded. "See you tomorrow," She responded, a strange part of her wanting to believe that it meant a bit more than just interacting in class. For whatever reason, she felt like it was something deeper, more sincere. Like he was asking, making sure, that their new, silent camaraderie would still be present in the next afternoon light.

They both turned, heading opposite directions down the hall; they both glanced back, and Kairi gave him a friendly wave, and they split apart, disappearing from each other's sight once they each turned different corners, going to different places and different people.

Kairi didn't stop smiling all night.


	5. Chapter 5

"How was your day?" Namine asked, digging in the pantry for something to make for the gang that night. Apparently, it was hard to get everyone to agree on something: Xion didn't like fish, Roxas wanted something greasy, Selphie wanted something healthy.

Kairi, leaned casually against the kitchen counter, shrugged; her mind flickered to the real highlight of her day—drama class, believe it or not—and figured this was a good a time as any to try and dig up some more information about the one person she couldn't stop thinking about. "Oh, fine, fine…I met that Sora boy," She said, trying to pull it off nonchalantly.

Namine stopped digging around in the pantry and poked her head out, blue eyes watching Kairi curiously. "You met him?"

"Yeah," Kairi shrugged, trying to keep her tone casual. "He's in my drama class. He doesn't seem that bad."

Namine gave a little scoff. "He's bad."

"He seems friendly enough to me."

Namine grabbed some cans of soup, closing the pantry door behind her, making her way over to the stove to start cooking it. "It's not that—it's what he does. In a place where grades are everything, where some people devote their entire lives to get in to, you need to be dedicated. And he's not—he'll skip class, he'll just randomly disappear off of campus." She shrugged. "Not to mention that he's _lower_ than a B…"

Kairi tried to hide her disdain for the odd labels the campus was separated by. She'd never liked that sort of thing, no matter what was used to distinguish between groups, whether it was appearance or academics or how sporty people were. She didn't really think things like that mattered.

"Where does he go, exactly?"

Name poured the soups into a pot, setting it on a hot burner. "No one really knows," She shrugs. "No one cares. He doesn't have any friends."

Kairi blinked, finding that particularly odd—he was so friendly, so happy. "No friends?" She repeated.

"Zip," Namine nodded. "Like I said, he's a distraction—disrupts things, doesn't care about everything this place stands for. He's a disgrace."

Kairi's eyes dropped to her feet, unsure what to think. Her curiosity for this boy—the one whose eyes felt like coming home, back to her father, back to her ocean—seemed to defy the warning that everyone had given her. She couldn't quite fathom the idea of this boy being a _disgrace_; he was too bright, too sunny, too comfortable for that. He was the one who had allowed her to mellow in their warm silence, the one who didn't make awkward small talk or bother her in any way.

"Really, Kairi," Namine spoke again, her voice soft, matching the look in her blue eyes. "I'm saying this as a friend—don't get mixed up with him. He's really not the type of person you want to know, not around here. He'll distract you from your studies—and in the Academy, that's the worst possible situation."

Kairi nodded, blue eyes meeting her friends. "Okay," She nodded again, a bit more fervently. "Yeah. I'll stay away from him—no problem. Stay focused, right?"

"Right," Namine smiled.

"I'll go call the girls and Roxas for supper," She responded, walking out of the kitchen, voice bleary and distracted, her mind in a strange fog. As she trudged down the long hallway towards the other side of the house, there was one thing she was absolutely sure of.

She needed to find out more about Sora. Not from her friends or from the rumors about him, but from _him_. She needed to understand him, find out his reasoning for skipping class and skipping campus and not caring about classes. She couldn't just take Namine's warning without any research into the subject. That would be illogical.

Most importantly, something in her heart didn't want to let go of the boy with the warm, comfortable silence and the ocean eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Kairi spent her entire second day at the Academy anxiously awaiting drama class. As much as she tried to convince herself it was because she was truly beginning to love the beauty of acting—which was an absolute lie—she knew, deep down, it was because she felt this odd connection to the boy with the spiky hair and the happy-go-lucky grin. She'd longed for his presence the entire day, noticing how dreary everyone else seemed in comparison, but her heart fell a little when she entered Latin class and realized he was not in attendance. Knowing this meant he wouldn't be in drama, too, she went about the rest of her day in a silent pout. At lunch, she grumbled to herself soundlessly while Selphie and Namine chatted about the cutest boys on campus, much to Roxas' jealousy.

And so, when Kairi grumpily made her way into the theatre for last block, she was surprised to be meet by a cheerful '_Kairi!'_ from a boy whose long body was stretched across four of the theatre seats.

She frowned, eyes adjusting to the darkness of the theatre as the door she'd walked through closed. Oddly enough, there were no lights on, and everyone was sort of stumbling around in the pitch-black, trying to find a seat and waiting for Mr. Hale to make some sort of entrance, as per usual.

Kairi's eyes narrowed in the darkness. "Sora?" She piped, unable to see.

He was lying across the seats, but sat up and patted the chair beside him. "Yeah, it's me—c'mere."

She stumbled her way forwards. "I can't see."

Sora, who had been in the theatre for the past hour or so, was adjusted to the darkness and could see pretty easily. He held out his hand, reaching for her. "Follow my voice," he instructed with a laugh, clasping her hand tightly when she bumped into it and clung to him. He lead her to the seat beside him, and she plopped down clumsily.

"Where were you?" She whisper-yelled, looking in Sora's direction but still unable to see anything. "In Latin—you weren't there."

"Oh," Sora blinked, nodding. "Yeah."

Kairi awaited an explanation, but was met with none. "Why didn't you come?"

He shrugged, laughing. Kairi was struck by the calm happiness that engulfed his voice. "I didn't feel like it."

"Are you serious?" She cried, still in her harsh half-whisper half-yell. "You'll get expelled!"

Sora made a face, snorting at her reaction. "I'm not too worried."

"So," She huffed, sinking into her seat a bit more. "You just _decide_ not to show up?"

"Mmmm…" Sora thought about it, tapping his chin. "Yup—pretty much. You're right on the money."

"_Why?_"

"See, it's an easy concept: stress is very bad. I think everyone agree on that. Don't you think?" He glanced over at her.

"Sure," She shook her head, still not seeing his point.

"Since I cannot speak Latin, Latin class tends to stress me out. _Therefore_, I do not go to Latin class." His voice was confident, a spark of sarcasm in it; she could tell he was smirking as he spoke. "Easy."

Kairi frowned. "You'll fail."

"So be it."

"Then, you'll get kicked out!" She cried in her little whispery voice again, trying not to disrupt the silence the theatre had. For some reason, everyone was whispering in their conversations—she figured it was because it was dark, everyone felt like they had to be quiet.

"Relax, Kairi," He assured her. "I won't get kicked out."

There was something about the way he said it that made Kairi think about all of those rumours the girls had told her about—the ones saying he was sleeping with the Dean, or the ones where he had threatened to kill the Dean, and that's why he was still in the Academy despite not meeting the intellectual quota.

Kairi blinked, not particularly wanting to address that topic. She didn't want her image of Sora to be shattered with the ugly truth, if the rumours were true. "You should've come," She whispered back, "We were put into partners. Now, I'm stuck with Stinky Susan indefinitely."

"Aww," Sora's lips spread into a grin. "She's not so bad. If you ask, she'll bake you cookies—they taste great."

"You've been partners with her before?"

He nodded. "In chemistry, first block last semester." His voice dropped an octave, lowering to a nearly silent whisper. "If you coat your clothes with febreze before you leave your dorm, you can almost ignore her stench. _Almost_."

Kairi snickered. "Thanks for the tip."

"Then again, there _is_ a proven method to not smelling her."

She raised an eyebrow. "Feel like sharing?"

"Sure—_don't show up to class_."

Kairi swatted at his arm, shaking her head. "So, you're trying to tell me you've been skipping class for _that_ long?"

"Yup."

"And you're _still_ here?"

"I'm your drama partner, aren't I?" He cocked an eyebrow at her.

Kairi shook her head, unsure what to think. She'd been warned about the harsh guidelines at the Academy, but for some reason, Sora seemed to be unswayed by them. "How long have you _been_ here?"

Now that her eyes were adjusting to the dark, she could see the plain hesitation washing over his face. His face flickered to one of peculiar dolefulness, but was then clouded over by a mask of his usual happy, serene expression. "A couple months—eight or nine, I think?" He shrugged. "I stopped counting."

Seeing a good moment to learn a bit more about him, Kairi pushed herself to ask a question. "Where are you from?"

This time, Sora maintained his mask-like expression a bit more solidly, only the pulling down of his eyebrows giving away his hard sorrow. There was a moment of quiet hesitation, his blue eyes searching the dark floor of the theatre, before he cleared his throat and mumbled out his response. "This little town on the south side of Destiny Islands—Avius Falls."

Kairi picked up on the tinge of dejection within his usually vibrant voice.

She blinked, searching his face as he looked at the floor, face cold as stone. "Did you like it there?"

He swallowed; she could see his adam's apple bob. There was another moment in between his words. "Hated it."

Kairi's eyebrows pulled down slightly. This boy seemed almost unrecognizable compared to the one from the day before; his smile had vanished, his entire aura of happy and joy and alive now zapped, evaporated into nothing. "Oh. Why?"

He shrugged, sitting up straighter, his lips turning up into a smirk. "Enough about me—what about you? Where are you from?"

She thought about it for a moment before a sweet smile erupted onto her lips. "Port Riz—short for Port Risio." She blinked, long lashes touching the tops of her cheeks. "Little place on the west coast of the Islands."

His expression seemed to lighten at the sight of her smile. Blue eyes entranced by hers, he asked, "How was it?"

A dreamy smile crept onto her face. "It was…the best. Me and my dad, we lived in this _tiny_ little house—well, it was tiny, but there were three stories, so you had to climb all the way up three staircases to get to the attic. I used to climb up there all the time. There was this big window—it took up the entire wall—and I'd open it up and stick my legs out and watch the sunset. The beach was _right there_." Unknowingly, her smile had grown wider as she spoke. "I'd spend my entire day in the water. Swimming, fishing, surfing, just playing around. My dad had to drag me in for supper. And at night, when I was supposed to be in bed, I'd sneak back out and put my feet in the water and talk to the moon, just by myself, and it was like there was no one else in existence."

Sora's eyes watched her carefully, mystified by her. "Sounds nice."

She shook her head. "I loved that place. And the town was great, too. There were all these annual festivals for _everything_—the paopu fruit, the sun, the ocean. It was just awesome. Everyone would dance, and there'd be all this food, and there wasn't any school the next day." She laughed a little at herself. "I never went to the festivals for long—I couldn't stay away from my ocean for that long—but they were still fun."

"You really like the ocean, huh?"

Kairi nodded at him, laughing. "I love it. It's my favourite place," After a moment, her expression turned to melancholy. "I think that's the hardest thing about this school—you don't get to just leave campus whenever you want. No drives down the mountain to the ocean, no visits home. Feels more like jail than school."

Sora scoffed in agreement. "Tell me about it."

Her voice was still soft, dreamy and whimsical. "I can't wait until winter break," She sighed. Winter break was the only time students were allowed to leave campus and go home; legally, the Academy had to allow them a short period of time to visit family, thus the week-long break students were allowed mid-winter. It was short, but Kairi was grateful. "Visit my dad, my ocean. It'll be great."

Sora's gaze didn't tear off of her face. "You must miss your dad."

"More than anything," Kairi nodded. "I feel bad about leaving—he's all alone. I mean, he's got his friends and work buddies, but who will cook for him? He burns everything he touches."

The boy laughed. "Have you given him a call? Checked up on him?"

Kairi's expression twisted up in confusion. "A call?" She asked, frowning at the spiky-haired boy. "Calls aren't allowed on campus. They're seen as a distraction."

Sora blinked. "Oh."

Kairi shrugged it off, wiping the confusion off of her face so as to not make Sora feel awkward. But deep down, a slight concern washed through her bones, one that made her heart ache: he hadn't known that calling loved ones was restricted. He must not have ever tried to contact anyone in his nine months of being here. She swallowed, trying to not show her sympathy.

Before she could try and change the subject, a spotlight came on with a loud _boom_, revealing Mr. Hale centre stage. Beside him, reflecting a mad glare at the students, was a large mirror. Mr. Hale started making dramatic movements, staring into the mirror.

"Today, my babies, we are going to try and _become one_ with our acting partners. This is called a _mirror exercise!"_ He clapped. "Try and copy each others movements, like a mirror. The team that does the best mirror movements will be given a prize. Go, go, go!"

Then, all of the lights were on in the theatre, yet again blinding the students; they all groaned and shielded their eyes, hissing at the lights.

Sora made a face, turning to Kairi. "He really likes to make an entrance."

"Clearly," Kairi noted, facing Sora, blinking as she tried to regain her sight.

Mr. Hale began making his rounds. "Everyone, together up on the stage! Make your movements as _one_!" He clapped again. _Clap clap_. "Don't be a pair—be one large, liquid being!"

Sora grabbed Kairi's hand and lead her to the stage muttering to her as they walked, "What the _hell_ does that even mean?"

"Come on, Sora," She murmured sarcastically, "We must be _liquid_. One, large _liquid_."

"Right, yes—we _are_ the liquid. Move as liquid ones. All liquid," He shot back, stretching out the words as he said them, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Mr. Hale's voice called from across the theatre, echoing slightly. "Miss Kairi, Mr. Sora—I urge you to mock me a little more quietly, sound carries very well throughout a theatre."

Sora gave him a salute. "Yes, sir."

Kairi snickered, her hand tingling where Sora's skin touched hers. He lead her towards the back of the stage, where the spotlights dimmed and it wasn't as bright; they sat down facing one another, faces twisted in frowns.

"Remember: _liquid_," Sora reminded her.

She grinned. "You're a tool. Okay, let's do this—I need to win that prize."

She lifted her right arm, and he copied the action with his left, as if he were on the other side of the mirror. "You don't even know what the prize is."

She shrugged, and he copied; he moved his right arm in swirling motions, and she followed suit. "Doesn't matter. I need it."

"A bit competitive, are we?"

Kairi nodded. "I don't like to lose. Not when there's prizes, anyways."

"Fair enough," He laughed. His blue eyes tore away from her for a moment, peering around the stage; the other partners—who were still awkward and uncomfortable together, considering this was only the second day of class—clumsily fumbled with their clothes, trying not to look at one another. "I think we're gonna win."

Their arms waved about in unison; Kairi looked around, watching Mr. Hale trying to urge a pair of particularly awkward students to cooperate and do the exercise. "Huh. Guess so. No one else really gets along."

Sora laughed. "Naw—they get along fine," He shrugged. "I think it's more that we just happen to get along super well."

Kairi made a face. "That's good, though. No wasting time on the awkward, stupid get-to-know-one-another crap."

"Hey, hey, hey—I happen to _like_ the getting-to-know-one-another stuff."

"Yeah?" Kairi lifted an eyebrow, clapping her hands together and pushing them upwards, smirking as Sora did the same, mirroring her. "Wanna give it a go?"

He seemed particularly pleased by this, giving her a small smile and a nod.

"Alright. Kairi fact number one: I don't like cheetos."

"You _don't?_" Sora gasped.

"I used to when I was little, and I ate three whole bags one night at a friend's sleepover. Threw up orange dust for two days straight, and never looked back." Her voice was light, bell-like; she giggled.

"Gross," Sora snorted.

"Your turn."

"Sora fact number one: my kneecaps are ticklish."

Kairi's eyes widened. "You're _kidding_."

"Dead serious."

Her eyes narrowed, and she glanced at his knees. Instantly, he clapped his hands over his knees—she copied the motion, reflecting him—and he shook his head.

"You wouldn't do that—that'd be taking advantage of my weakness," His blue eyes were wide, "And it'd be _mean_."

"I'll get you eventually," Kairi responded, nodding. "Not now. I wouldn't want to embarrass you in public."

"Oh, so you'd rather embarrass me in private?"

"Yup."

"You're evil."

Kairi shrugged, smiling. "Guilty as charged."

Sora laughed. "Your turn."

She hummed to herself. "Hmm. Kairi fact number two: never been drunk."

Sora seemed incredibly surprised by that. "_Really?_"

"Really!" Kairi laughed back. "My dad was my best friend—not the best person to get hammered with."

He made a face. "Solid excuse," His lips spread into a grin. "Promise me, then."

"Promise you what?"

"That you'll get drunk with me," He said plainly, as if it were obvious.

Kairi blinked, eyes locked with his blue ones, the memories of her ocean home again reawakened by his gaze. Her chest felt warm and happy and light, and her lips seemed permanently stretched into a smile. "Promise."

"Friday night. That's when we'll get drunk." Sora nodded to himself after a moment of thought.

"Wait a second—_how_ are we going to get drunk? Alcohol is banned on campus."

"It _is_ banned on campus," Sora agreed.

"So, how?" Kairi pressed, noting the sparkle of mischief in the boy's eyes.

Sora simply laughed. "We go off campus, silly."

"_Off campus?_" Kairi stuttered, blinking. "That's—that's not allowed! I'll get detention—or expelled, oh my god—"

"Kairi!" Sora laughed, his cheeks a bit pink from chuckling so much. "Relax, it'll be okay—we won't get caught. It's okay."

"What if we do get caught?"

"We won't," He laughed.

"Ugh," She muttered, leaning against her palm; Sora mimicked her. "You're sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay," Kairi nodded. "Friday. Drunk. Okay."

Sora's lips twisted up into an amused grin. "Try not to have a heart attack, alright?"

"One can only try."

He snorted. "Have you never snuck out?"

"I have," Kairi shrugged. "But this is a bigger deal. If I got in trouble or expelled…" She trailed off, blue eyes falling to Sora's legs, staring at them blankly as she thought. "My dad would be so disappointed."

Sora nodded, trying to understand the girl before him. "You want to make him proud," He noted.

Kairi smiled slightly. "If I got expelled, he'd say he didn't care, but he would," She smirked, mind wrapped in thought. "He wants the best for me. This place guarantees a successful future, so he wants me here."

"Makes sense."

"Still a bit scary, though. The pressure is so high around here—what if I can't handle it? What if I just don't do well, can't keep my grades up?"

Sora shrugged, blue eyes honest and soft. "I've been here long enough to see some people come and go," He said, "Some of the smartest people dropped out. Sometimes, it's just not a good fit. It doesn't have to be about intelligence."

Kairi laughed at that; it was cold and hard. "You should hear my friends in my dorm," She scoffed. "To them, intelligence is everything."

Sora's eyebrows raised knowingly. "People around here, their perspective gets so warped," He mumbled, shaking his head a bit. "They get so caught up in the school, they don't think about themselves. Nobody has any fun around here."

"You seem like fun," Kairi offered with a smile.

Sora chuckled. "That's because I don't care about grades," He muttered. "Mine or anyone else's. I just care about the person."

Kairi smiled a bit, taken by surprise by this. From her friends' perspective, they made it out like Sora was some criminal, some disaster that should be taken away—but from his perspective, it seemed a lot more honest, a lot nicer. To him, people weren't _B's _or _A's_ or _aboves_—they were people. "I like that."

"I like you," He replied, ocean eyes serious. "You should be honoured—I don't grace everyone with my friendship in this joint."

"So I've heard," Kairi giggled. "But, thank you. It's nice to have _one_ friend who isn't obsessed with their grades."

At the mention of him being her friend, Sora's eyes began to sparkle with pleasure, his lips pressed into a tight line, trying to stifle the hopeful smile that threatened to take over his entire face.

The two fell into casual conversation then, still moving about and mirroring each other, much to Mr. Hale's relief. The class seemed to fly by, and Sora and Kairi were completely lost in one another, words flowing easily between them. Kairi found it quite odd how they could flop from a sweet silence one day to unquenchable conversation the next. Either way, she was sure of one thing—she wanted to be in Sora's presence, silent or talkative, every moment of every day.

When the clock tower rang and signalled that class was over, Mr. Hale made his way towards the blue-eyed duo and issued them their prize—which was obvious, considering they were the only pairing that managed to make eye contact throughout the entire class—which was a chocolate bar. They took it out into the stone corridor, and Sora attempted to crack the treat in half. Rather than split nicely, it was a jagged tear, causing one piece to be much bigger then the other.

Sora gave Kairi the bigger piece, and they said their goodbyes before promising, just like the day before, that they would both see one another the next day.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**_**Sorry that this chapter ends so abruptly, I'm horrible at tying things off so I'm really, really sorry! Hopefully everyone who has read the story so far enjoys it! Please, please PLEASE review, it's my only way of knowing if I'm doing okay and I really appreciate it. Thanks a lot!**_

The week passed by in a blur, the classes whisking by quickly and her time at her dorm flying by even faster. Drama class, of course, was beginning to be her only enjoyable time; there was never any homework, and she was always with Sora, so it helped her relax. Even when she was extremely stressed about school, he seemed to be able to calm her down, make her forget about it.

Whenever she got home, it was immediately study time. The gang would pile up in the tiny livingroom of the dorm, each person's face stuffed into their books. Kairi found it rather odd how they chose to spend their time together, doing things independently. She supposed that's why this little cluster of friends worked so well together—they just wanted to be with one another, even if they weren't interacting with each other. Still, she found herself longing for the presence of another person, even when she was supposed to be busy studying.

Friday was the big day, the one day where she promised she could relax and stay away from her books. There were supposed to be parties all over campus—down at the Emerald Lake beach, in most of the frats, all the dorms, _everywhere_. The gang asked her to join them in their quest to hit every party on campus, a mission which they called "_the Ultimate Party Experience_". Much to their dismay, Kairi denied, saying she had to stay home and catch up on some Latin—which was a giant lie. Then again, she couldn't plainly say that she was sneaking out with Sora, the boy they all despised, to get ridiculously hammered. Kairi figured some things should not be told, and this was one of those things.

Friday night, once the gang had all scattered—it had taken the girls two hours to get ready; they'd been fighting over space in the bathroom so they could do their makeup, and then helped each other pick outfits to wear—and left the dorm, Kairi heard the front bell ring. Hopping down the steps, she pulled open the door, surprised to be met with an icy wind and a friendly face.

"Ready to get smashed?" Sora grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. His cheeks and nose were red and flushed, his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his jacket.

Kairi rolled her eyes, grabbing her coat and pulling it on as she stepped out into the cool, crisp wind. She closed the door behind her, the darkness enveloping the pair; they walked along the path, heading down a direction Kairi hadn't ever gone before. "Where are we going?"

"I told you—we're leaving campus," He explained, breath becoming a soft, white cloud of fog as he spoke. "I'm taking you to my special spot."

Kairi's eyebrows raised. "Your special spot?" She blinked. "Sounds…special."

"It is," He laughed; more white cloud huffed out from his lips.

Sora lead her down the trail, which made its way toward the Emerald Lake; they were on the side opposite the beach, and she could see all the lights and people on the sand, partying and shouting and blasting their music. People were dancing together, and drinking from red cups and kissing; from their standpoint, way across the beautiful lake, the entire party seemed a bit too rowdy, too exciting for the location. Where they trudged through the trees, their quiet side, everything seemed beautiful, mystical; the party seemed ugly and annoying, and she was glad she hadn't gone.

They walked around the lake, following a small dirt path; they chatted as they went for what seemed like a long time, although Kairi was pretty sure only twenty minutes had passed and that the cold was getting to her head.

Back home, they'd never had weather like this: it was always warm, sunny and tropical. Here, up on the mountain, things were different: the seasons actually changed, the weather got colder, and some years there was even snow.

Their path veered off from the side of the lake and they could no longer hear the noise from the party; there was only soft silence, the sound of the woods around them and their quiet footsteps. Kairi's breath was shaky, her body trembling as she shivered—it would take her some time to adjust to the weather, that's for sure.

And then, almost out of nowhere, the trees around them began to disappear and they were in a small clearing, a meadow. The grasses were high and yellow, dying off by the cold weather; across the clearing, the grass dwindled down to rock, leading up to the huge lighthouse that rested on the peak of the cliff. The lantern on it circled, lighting up the dim fog over the cliff and then beaming down at them, blindingly bright.

"Is that it?" Kairi asked, absolutely in awe of its beauty. "The lighthouse—is that your special place?"

"Yeah," Sora nodded; he looked over at Kairi, for the first time noticing how cold she was. "Let's get inside—it's warm." He reached down and gripped Kairi's hand softly, their fingers intertwining as he jogged across the rocky cliff, tugging her alongside.

Sora brought them to the nearest side, finding the door easily, like he'd lived there all his life; inside, it was dim, the only light being the giant lantern that swung around in the very top, littering the mountainside and the ocean far below with a golden beam. He closed the door behind them enveloping them in the warmth of the lighthouse.

"Is anyone in here?" Kairi asked timidly, voice quiet.

Sora shook his head, his hand still wrapped up in hers. "No—it's been deserted for years. They come in and replace the light every four months, but other than that, I've got the place to myself."

Kairi blinked, looking up; there was a spiral staircase that wound itself up the side of the lighthouse, leading up to top, where there was a level all to itself. The entire building was white, old looking but rather clean and well taken care of. It was warm inside, and she hesitantly tore her hand away from Sora's to remove her coat; he took it from her, hanging it alongside his.

"C'mon," He smiled at her softly, blue eyes watching Kairi, big and happy. "Let's go up."

"Okay," She nodded, following up the big spiral staircase. The entire way up, Kairi was absolutely mystified by the place; at the very top, the entire thing was windows, and she felt a dizzying fear rush through her. She'd never been particularly scared of heights, but being so high up was a jolt to her system. She walked towards the window, looking past her reflection and peering out at the ocean far below; the final glow of the sunset could be seen on the horizon, giving a small bit of the water a pinky glow.

Sora stood beside her, grinning. "You like it?"

"I love it," Kairi whispered, voice soft, like it was melting. "The ocean—it's…wow."

A small smile flickered onto Sora's lips, and he looked at his feet shyly. "I hoped you'd like it—you know, seeing the ocean. I thought it would remind you of home."

Kairi's expression twisted into a frown, and she turned to look at Sora. "You did?"

"Yeah—you always talk about how much you miss your ocean. So, I thought I'd bring you to it." He shrugged. "You do like it, right?" A hesitant frown washed over his features.

"I love it, Sora," Kairi laughed. "Thank you so much."

He seemed genuinely glad that he'd been able to make her smile. He nodded back towards the other side, motioning for Kairi to follow him; she did so willingly, her eyes trailing him as she walked.

They sat down on the floor against the wall furthest from the staircase; Kairi watched Sora with curiosity, watching his expression flop between different emotions. He seemed to be struggling with himself, battling between two things to say. Eventually, one topic won out and he spoke, blue eyes glued to the floor.

"This is where I go," He murmured, voice soft and low. "When I'm gone from school. I go here. It's easier to think."

"To think about what?"

He blinked. "Everything. Things, people, places. It's nice to be able to get away from the Academy for a little bit."

Kairi's face twisted into a frown and she glared at him, _hard_. He was confusing. She couldn't seem to make sense of him—he was the nicest person she'd met in a long while, one who was kind and sweet and happy-go-lucky beyond belief, and yet he was this stand-offish loner, one without friends and without a confidante. A boy who chose to lock himself up in a light tower rather than be with other people.

She felt like he was an actor cast for the wrong part in a movie. He should be the popular boy, the one with girls all over him and a plentiful number of friends; he should be the boy at the parties this weekend, the one kissing girls and dancing with them and laughing all of the time. He should be that boy—but he wasn't. Instead he was the boy who was regarded a disgrace and a distraction, one that didn't belong and was never given a chance to.

Kairi didn't quite know what to think of him. Sora, in any other school in any other place, would be the most popular boy—but here, he was the rebel, the bad boy. It seemed wrong, odd. He was too nice to be a bad boy. Sure, he was a bit rebellious, but he wasn't a _bad boy_. He seemed like a regular boy, one that should go to a regular school in a regular town and be the kid everyone wanted to know.

He confused her.

"I like it here," Kairi whispered, voice gentle as she raised her chin and looked around. "Feels like home."

Sora's ocean eyes met hers, and he smiled. Honestly, she couldn't see why he was so disliked—she was beginning to like him more and more every minute. Why did her friends hate him without even knowing him?

"You can come here," He responded, struggling with his words. It seemed like he was fighting with himself, saying something important. "You know. Whenever. To think."

By the look in his eyes, Kairi was sure that was something he'd never done before. He looked sort of terrified and overjoyed all at once, resulting in an intense, wide-eyed look flickering through his features. She seemed to realize that he'd never done that before, given his lighthouse—his escape—up for someone else to cling on to.

She smiled, and it made him feel better. "I think you'd have to come with me—I'd get lost on the way."

Sora nodded, trying to hide the ecstatic smile he felt bubbling in his bones from wearing onto his face. He'd never done that before, never really opened up much. He felt a bit lighter, like the girl sitting across from him had taken a weight off of his shoulders. "Okay," He nodded back. "I'll come with you."

Kairi laughed. "Okay. Good."

Again, that sweet silence that Kairi first appreciated about Sora hung over the two; Sora's eyes were back on the wooden floor shyly, and Kairi's were searching his face with increased curiosity.

Then, before he was even really aware of what was going on, Kairi threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. She slammed her eyes shut, breathing in his scent, clinging to him. He was warm, his body soft yet hard with muscle, and she could feel his chest rise and fall with every breath.

Sora blinked, caught off guard, before he hesitantly wrapped his arms around Kairi. After a moment, he relaxed into her, falling prey to her gentle touch; he hugged her back, his chin resting into her shoulder perfectly and their heads leaning against one another.

It was the first hug he'd given in two years.

"Thank you," Kairi said gently, muffled against his shirt. "For making me feel better." She leaned back, cheeks a bit red—she was embarrassed; she'd practically jumped the kid—and glanced down at the floor.

Sora blinked, his own face a bit warm. "It's…no problem," He replied, a tiny smile working its way onto his lips.

They both looked at one another, eyes like the sky locked on eyes like the ocean, and for the first moment in a long time, both of them felt perfectly okay. They stayed like that for a while, quiet and warm and okay, and then they set out to what they'd been intending to do.

They got roaring drunk.

Now, it wasn't the gross kind of drunk, the one where everything is a blur and you wake up with your eyes burning and the back of your throat tastes like vomit, but rather a sweet sort of drunk, where you feel happy and floaty and just past the point of being tipsy.

Sora was amused to find that Kairi was a giggly drunk; she laughed at everything he did, even if he was being dead serious, and laughed even harder when he tried to do something funny. Sora knew for a fact that he was a funny drunk, one who would go out of his way to make his company giggle or snort or show even the slightest amount of amusement, and so that's how the night went. Sora cracked jokes and said knock-knocks and anything else he could possibly find funny, and Kairi simply listened and laughed, and took off her shoes and sprawled herself across Sora's lap when she got tired. Eventually, they both knew it was time to head back, otherwise they'd fall asleep in their lighthouse—and it was _theirs_, now; Sora couldn't see how it couldn't belong to Kairi, too, considering how much she'd lit it up—and Kairi's dorm-mates would catch on to something. So, drunk and wobbly, they stumbled through the cold forest in the wee hours of the morning, back to Kairi's dorm; the lights were still on and her friends were visible through the open windows, looking worried and a bit angry.

Kairi let out a sigh, knowing that the fun night was nearly over. She turned to Sora, the taste of alcohol on her lips. "Thanks, Sora," She said, voice was sweet as honey, "I had a really good time."

Sora shrugged shyly. He paid close attention to her, holding his arms out in case she tipped over too much and lost her balance; he noticed how cold she was, how her lips looked a bit too pale. "You better get inside," He responded, "Before you freeze to death."

She made a face. "You wouldn't let me freeze," Her voice was messy, slurred just a small bit.

"True," Sora grinned. "But you should go—I can see your blonde friend having a panic attack inside."

Kairi peered at her dorm, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "Yeah," She nodded. "Namine's probably pissed." Kairi blinked, staring at her building for a bit longer before turning back to the spiky-haired boy. "Really, though—thanks. This is the most fun I've had in a long time."

That seemed to really please Sora. He shrugged, cheeks flushed and lips twisted up into a grin. "Let's do it again, then."

Kairi laughed. "Okay. Might have to lay off the alcohol a bit, though—I liked it a _little_ bit too much."

"So I've noticed," Sora chuckled, hands grasping her waist when she stumbled. He set her back up straight, then pulled away.

Kairi looked at him for a bit longer, hesitant. She didn't really _want_ to leave—he seemed to be the only thing around here that really made her feel better, the only thing that relieved her home-sickness. "Right," She muttered under her breath, forcing herself to take a step back towards her building. "See you in drama?"

Sora nodded, laughing. "I'll be there."

Kairi gave him a wave, then turned and walked to the door of her dorm; she walked in, the warmth of the place a shock to her numb fingers, and closed the door behind her. The lights were bright, and she blinked for a moment, getting a grip on her surroundings.

Outside, Sora stayed for a moment, just grinning at the frosty ground below him. He hadn't been this happy in—well, he didn't think he'd _ever_ been this happy. He felt like someone had lit a spark in his belly, given him some kind of warmth. It had been a long time since he'd smiled like this—a good, _real_ smile—and he clung to that feeling. After a moment, he turned and began to make his way towards his own dorm building, the cold weather no longer bothersome. He was far too happy to care about the cold.

Back inside the warmth of her building, Kairi stretched out her fingers, pain shooting up them as they began to defrost. She frowned, crinkling her toes at the same time; all of her extremities hurt, aching like they'd been cramped up for hours.

And then, Namine came down from the stairs, spending the next ten minutes interrogating Kairi on where she'd been. Knowing she couldn't possibly tell the truth, Kairi mumbled out some lie—which she was awful at doing—about going for a walk and stumbling upon a party and having a couple drinks, which Namine took as a perfectly good excuse and accepted graciously. Of course, Kairi could never really be sure if Namine had actually believed her—she was an _awful _liar, really—but she was grateful that her friend had let it go. Actually, she'd felt rather appreciative of the fact that Namine had been so worried—she'd stayed up all night waiting for Kairi to get home.

Kairi then stumbled her way to the kitchen, about to have some toast as a late night meal to satisfy her starvation, before she realized that the kitchen wasn't empty. Roxas was there—fast asleep, mind you—his face smushed against the island countertop, a plate of now-cold spaghetti resting beside him. There was a little sticky note attached to it; in his messy writing it said '_FOR KAIRI_'. A strong mixture of guilt and appreciation washed over her when she realized how her new friends really cared for her; she popped the plate in the microwave, and ate it once it was warm enough. Then, before she flicked off the late and headed up to her room—she didn't have the heart to wake the sleeping boy—she gave Roxas a kiss on the cheek, hoping some part of him would know she was grateful for the gesture.

As soon as she made it up to her bedroom, she collapsed into the squeaky mattress; her eyes snapped shut and she drifted off peacefully, still in a bit of a tipsy haze.

It was the first night she dreamt about Sora.


	8. Chapter 8

For Kairi, the next few weeks were spent sneaking out after dark with Sora.

At first, they'd spent their evenings walking around the campus—which was always deserted, except for their presence; they were the only two students who didn't spend every spare minute studying—chatting and telling stories, having a good time.

Occasionally, on Friday or Saturday nights when there were no classes the next day, the two would make the hike down to their lighthouse. Kairi especially liked those nights, even though Sora never smiled much—he seemed to be a bit more serious, which was rather unlike himself, and showed a darker side. Those times up in the lighthouse were the ones that Kairi seemed to sense something was wrong, something bothering her ocean-eyed boy; he would be quiet and his eyes would be dark and he would close up. She didn't have the heart to press further, though, because she felt his hesitation when her concerned gaze landed on him. His body would tense and his eyes would dim and he'd be so sad looking, but there seemed to be a mutual understanding that she shouldn't ask. Not until he wanted her to. They always had very in-depth conversations about topics up at the lighthouse. It seemed to be a haven for both the lighthearted things as well as the deeper stuff, the things they wouldn't take about down at school. The moments seemed to mean more up there.

Unfortunately, the time spent with Sora caused Kairi's grades to slip even closer to that tipping point, the one that would cause her to fall from an _A_ to a _B_. Of course, she couldn't care less about the social classes—as long as she didn't fail miserably, she was doing all right in her books. However, she _was_ getting dangerously close to that low point, the one that the Academy refused to allow any students to drop to—except for Sora. And so, they'd begun going to the library.

They'd go into the very far back corner of the Grand Library on campus, the dimmed corner where no one ever seemed to go; Kairi would sit and study hard, sometimes finish up a bit of homework, and Sora would just sit and watch or grab one of the millions of dusty books in the place. Sometimes, Sora would even help her study; he'd quiz her on her notes, helping her to memorize dates and chemical equations. Kairi returned the favour a few times, helping Sora study whenever he felt up to it. She'd quiz him and ask him a couple questions and he'd respond, getting a few of them right. His study sessions never lasted for long—he became a bit restless, his goofiness maximizing and become nearly unmanageable, so Kairi would stop and they'd whisper to one another and just laugh.

Kairi had noticed the small bits of her reflecting in the boy, the parts of her that were rubbing off on him. It wasn't hard to tell that his grades had begun to improve, albeit slowly, but were nonetheless better; her short study sessions with him must have paid off a bit. Not only that, but since their meeting he hadn't missed a single drama class, and his attendance was picking up in Latin. Kairi had asked him about it once, wondering why he'd started showing up to Latin despite him saying it was stressful; he'd blushed madly, glared down at his feet and muttered '_It's just a beautiful language, okay?_' and then quickly changed the subject.

Truth was, she couldn't see how this school would be any fun at all without Sora around. He made everything a bit brighter, made the pressures of the classes painless and lightened her mood. She'd found herself heavily dependant on him if she had a bad day, and he always came through. He was like her own little bit of happy, and she didn't intend on having that end any time soon.

Of course, any time she snuck away with him she was met with questions by her friends; she'd always made up some stupid answer like she felt restless or homesick or that she needed to read a book from the library, and although she was sure they didn't buy her terrible lies, they allowed it to pass without pressing any further.

As soon as she'd begin to feel bad about lying, Sora would make her forget. He'd crack a joke or tell a story or even just start talking about something that didn't particularly matter but she didn't _care_ anymore, because his voice was warm and soft and nice and his eyes were the ocean, and she felt at home.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: **_Hiiiii, readers! Thanks so much for the support, it's great and I appreciate it so much. Love all of the comments and feedback! I just wanted to warn you (and also apologize) that this chapter has a lot of Latin phrases in it. I've tried my best to have these translated properly, but my only resource is google translate and I'm aware that it's pretty sketchy at times…so I'm so sorry if my translations are awful and wrong, and I'm sorry if any Latin-speaking people think I'm a complete idiot. Anyways, my apologies, apparently Latin is a hard language to translate. Should've chosen Spanish. Oh. Also this chapter is very lame and I'm incredibly aware of that and I'm sorry. Okay. Thanks a lot! Please comment and give me some feedback _

Sora groaned, his blue eyes flickering from Kairi to the large stack of books in her hands. "Tell me we aren't studying _again_," He sighed heavily, shoulders drooping. "That's all we ever do."

Kairi walked towards him, her breath crystallizing into white clouds around her. She clung tightly to the books—they were heavy, slowly slipping from her grip—with her gloved fingers, shivering quietly. "Might I remind you what we did yesterday?" She teased, eyebrows lifting.

Sora's eyes narrowed. "That was fun—don't tell me you didn't enjoy yourself."

Kairi laughed; the day before, Sora had begged for them to sneak into the stables and pet the horses. They'd managed to get in without being noticed—not that anyone was around; students were all studying and the campus buildings were completely student monitored—and stayed there for a couple hours. She'd been surprised by how much Sora liked the horses, and how much they liked him back; it seemed that she wasn't the only thing attracted to his good nature. The horses all pressed against the gates to their stalls, desperate for his touch; they whinnied, trying to get him to come to them. Of course, Sora wouldn't be satisfied until every horse had been pet at least twice, and Kairi just leaned back, chatting with him as he made his rounds. She couldn't help but notice how happy he seemed, every ounce of darkness that occasionally flickered onto his expression evaporated into thin air, completely gone. He'd looked incredibly young, innocent—like nothing had ever harmed him.

Kairi shrugged. "It was fun, but if you want to _continue_ having my company, we've gotta get some studying in."

Sora shook his head sadly, but agreed; his spiky hair flailed gently in the wind. His big hands reached over and lifted the heavy books out of Kairi's slippery grip, helping her now a regular habit of his. It wasn't so much that he didn't think she could handle things, but it had become a priority of his to make everything easier on her, even the little things like carrying her books. She'd made things easier for him, so he felt obliged to do the same.

Kairi grinned up at Sora's mopey expression. "Don't be a grump."

"I won't," He replied defensively. "As long as we aren't going over Latin."

They walked among the cobblestone paths, which were now glazed over in delicate frost, much like the rest of the campus; the once-green grass was now yellow, its tips dipped in cold white. The trees were bare and naked, a harsh contrast to their once full limbs. According to weather reports, this was to be the coldest year on Destiny Islands yet. Down below, off the mountain, things weren't going to be as bad; mornings might be a bit chilly, maybe below freezing, but up high on the Academy campus, it was going to be bad. There were warnings that this was going to be the worst weather the mountain had seen in decades; there was guaranteed snow, strong warnings of blizzards and severe storms. The students were all disgruntled about it, worrying that the storms might affect their schooling—except for Sora and Kairi. They thought the storms would be fun.

"Funny," Kairi laughed. "That's all I need to study."

Sora groaned even louder, but he didn't really mind, not if he was with Kairi. He didn't care what they did. They could watch really girly movies or study or even sit together in complete silence and he would have a good time. Being with Kairi felt easy and made him happy, and that hadn't ever really happened for Sora. It'd been a long time since he'd smiled this much.

He was a misshapen puzzle piece, and she was the only thing that he seemed to fit into anymore.

Once they made it to the library and stumbled down to their quiet, dimmed back corner—they went there to make sure they wouldn't be found, although the library was always empty past seven anyways—and sat down, each of them shivering.

Kairi's voice stuttered and tripped over itself as she shivered, tugging off her mitts and staring at her hands, now raw and red looking from the cold. Sora shivered, scooting closer to her and wrapping his hands around hers; her hands were so cold they sent a shock through him. He leaned forwards and breathed, his hot breath and warm grip beginning to thaw her out.

She looked at him thoughtfully as he frowned at her hands, breathing on them and holding them, thumbs rubbing small circles into her palms. He seemed extremely intent on making her hands fade back to their regular, pale color; his lips, soft and warm, brushed against her hand every so often as he slowly let out warm breaths, blinking gently.

After a few moments, when both of their shivering had ceased and Kairi's hands looked a little bit more human, Sora peered down at her.

"Better?"

Kairi blinked, then nodded, staying silent. She was afraid that if she spoke, her voice would be too soft, too weak. When Sora released her hands, she realized how much she'd liked his touch and how cold she felt without it.

Sora's face contorted into one of his beautiful smiles, cheeks flushed and eyes blue and happy. "Good."

Kairi's eyes seemed locked on his, unable to tear them away. She was momentarily lost in his gaze, heart pounding heavily against her ribs; her hands felt tingly where his lips had brushed ever so slightly, her breath shallow and her veins buzzing with a surge of nervous adrenaline.

Sora met her intense gaze, a flicker of a smile washing over his expression. His eyebrows pulled down slightly, appearing a bit amused. "Studying?" He said, reminding Kairi of their entire purpose to be there.

His reminder broke her blurry haze and she blinked, clearing her throat and glancing down at the books in her lap. "Oh. Um. Right. Studying."

Sora blinked, thinking about the look he'd just seen on her face. He began to regret reminding her of studying.

She pulled one of the many Latin textbooks on her lap towards her, flipping it open to one of the pages with a corner folded down. Across it were many phrases in Latin, a few specific ones starred off because she had to memorize them. Cheeks a bit red, she looked up at Sora. "Wanna help?"

He nodded. "Yup."

"Okay," She huffed, struggling to lift the heavy book and hand it to the boy beside her. "We can just converse in Latin—you can read off the book if you want, because you suck at it."

Sora gave her an expression of mock insult. "Ouch."

"It's true."

He frowned. "I know."

Kairi giggled. "Don't pout, you goof."

Sora rolled his eyes, then dramatically whispered out, "_Speak Latin to me, you fool_."

She snorted. "_Fatuus_."

The boy frowned, sneering at the auburn-haired girl. "Don't call me an idiot, idiot."

Kairi grinned. "You knew that one?"

"It was the first thing I looked up in class. Other than boobs."

She shook her head. "You _are_ an idiot."

Sora's head leaned against the stone wall they rested against, blue eyes flickering up and looking at their surroundings—the high, dark ceilings; the bookcases spanning entire walls—and smirked. "Yeah, but I'm your idiot."

Kairi's smile grew, and she pressed her lips together in an attempt to reign in her obvious joy. "Yeah. My little idiot."

He rolled his head to peer over at her, the shadows from the dimness casting across his face perfectly. Sora smiled, his overflowing satisfaction clear in his eyes.

"Alright," Kairi tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're my little idiot—then, what am I?"

Sora thought about that for a long moment, long eyelashes touching the top of his cheeks when he blinked. When he spoke, his voice was deep, dark; Kairi instantly knew not to question his words, not to press any further. It was part of their silent agreement, the one that stood between them whenever Sora morphed into this darkness. She wouldn't ask—not until he was ready for her to. Not until he could give her the right answers.

"_Luna Splendorum_," He'd said, rolling his head back so that he was looking forwards, not meeting Kairi's eyes.

She watched him, searching every bit of him possible, trying to understand. The darkness that occasionally hit his features seemed to have engulfed him, drowned him; his lips pulled down at the corners, his adam's apple appearing heavy in his throat. When he blinked, he looked sad. He'd switched from being this happy little beam of light to a boy shrouded in sorrow and darkness, a stark comparison to his regular person. Kairi couldn't make any sense of it.

_Luna Splendorum_ translated directly to _glow of the moon_. Being the better at Latin out of the two, Kairi had had no problem sorting that bit out. The harder part was knowing what it meant in accordance to Sora. Clearly, he'd thought about this before, translated those specific words—Kairi was well aware that Sora was terrible at Latin, and he wouldn't know that translation unless he'd looked it up in one of the textbooks prior to this exchange. Obviously, the words meant something to him. She just wasn't sure what.

She was sure of one thing, though: she hated to see Sora like this. She didn't like the way he swallowed like his throat was all tight and closed up, or the way he seemed to be fighting to keep his lips from turning down at the corners, or the way that his hands, although slow and subtle, had balled up into fists at his sides. Every single ounce of him radiated pure sadness, echoing something horrible from inside of him; Kairi wanted to know what was wrong, tear the sadness out of him and bring back the happy, smiley boy she'd had moments ago. The boy before her—the sad one—was not her _paulo fatuus_. He was someone else entirely, one that looked mournful and wistful. This wasn't Sora.

"_Video vos tristes_," Kairi murmured softly, eyes still on the boy beside her.

_**I can see your sad.**_

Sora blinked, then glanced at her; his eyebrows pulled down into a soft frown. His sadness no longer engulfed him, but his confusion had interrupted some of it. "I don't know those ones," He said gently, blue eyes on hers.

She ignored him. "_Fractum puer_."

_**Broken boy**_**.**

His frown grew, and his blue eyes searched his more intently. He seemed to realize that the words she said were not meant to be understood by him, that they'd just needed to be said. So, rather than question her, he responded the best way he knew possible—to some of the few Latin words in his vocabulary.

Both Kairi and Sora knew that any Latin words he knew by heart were important, because he was awful at the language and only had the will to look up the phrases that mattered to him. So, when he spoke, Kairi understood. She knew.

"_Vos planto me oblitus._"

_**You make me forget.**_

__If the way he'd said it were different, Kairi might have smiled. She might have even blushed. If he'd said it with happiness, she would have thought it was cute, like she'd stolen so much of his focus that he'd blurred everything else out and forgotten about it. But that wasn't how he said it. The way he'd said the words was slow, quiet, somber and awful. Kairi did not smile. She did not blush. She couldn't, because the way he'd said it made her realize that there was something _to_ forget. He wasn't all smiles and sunshine, the way she'd first thought he was; there was something behind his grin and laugh, something worth forgetting.

The realization gave her shivers.

Kairi blinked, sitting there for a moment afterwards, eyes on the beautiful old floors of the Grand Library. Then, before she could say something stupid, she shuffled closer to her spiky-haired boy and pressed her forehead into his shoulder, hiding her face and her terrified expression. He was warm and his sweater was soft and she pressed further into him, wanting to chase away his sadness and make him forget _all_ of it, enough so that the darkness never touched down on his mind anymore and never made him upset. She wished she could do more for her ocean-eyed boy, do something to make him feel better. But she couldn't—all she could do was sit with him and smile with him and be there, so she shuffled even closer and leaned her entire body into his side, hoping her presence would help.

Sora blinked, looking down at the girl pressing into his side. He lifted his arm and she scooted tighter against him, her head fitting in perfectly to his chest and her arms wrapping around him, hugging him tightly. His arm dropped around her shoulders, squeezing her softly.

He liked the way she felt. She was little and warm and soft, and when she hugged him he could feel her ribs move with every breath; she tucked her face into his sweater but he could imagine her expression, twisted up in concern and a mixture of complete confusion and absolute understanding. That's one thing he loved about Kairi—even if she didn't know something, she understood everything behind it.

Knowing they'd have to head back to their individual dorms soon—they'd began this study session later than usual because Kairi had been forced to have dinner with her roomies—so that she wouldn't get interrogated by her friends. Not only that, but the weather was getting worse—he could hear the whistle of wind outside—and he wanted to walk Kairi home just to make sure she was alright.

Instead of mentioning this, though, Sora simply closed his eyes, holding himself tighter to the girl wrapped around him. He wanted to memorize this, remember this moment in the core of his soul: holding her, hearing her breathe, feeling her warmth. He didn't want to forget this. It meant too much.

Quietly, he murmured, "_Vos planto mihi sentio melior.._"

_**You make me feel better.**_

__Eventually, Sora's sadness dripped away to nothing, leaving him exhausted and weary both physically and emotionally. The sadness that dimmed his eyes and stole his grin away always seemed to suck the life out of him, like some sick sort of virus or bacteria feeding off of him. After a while, the two of them both realized it was time to go: Sora was gutted and Kairi knew she'd get nagged by her friends, who were probably up worrying about her.

And so, quietly, the two got up and gathered their things—Sora insisted on carrying Kairi's books again—and made their way through the chilly night to Kairi's dorm. Once they got there, they stood on the cobblestone path and looked at one another, neither one particularly wanting to leave.

But, eventually, they both knew that leaving one another was inevitable. Sora gave Kairi her books back, and Kairi thanked him for spending his evening with her studying—although she'd done absolutely no studying—and they both still stood there, that sweet silence blanketing them, shrouded by the darkness of the night.

After a long, quiet moment, Sora's voice broke through the silence, asking the one question that Kairi wanted to hear.

"See you tomorrow?" He asked, mimicking his words after their first meeting.

Kairi nodded, a smile sprawled across her face. To her—and she was sure it meant to the same to him; they had that type of understanding—those words were a sure sign that things were okay, that Sora was reassuring her he was fine. It was his way of telling her not to worry, that he would be alright, that he was sorry for ruining what would have been a perfectly lovely night (although Kairi thought it was lovely anyways; she loved any time spent with Sora). And that made her feel better.

"See you tomorrow," She nodded. "Promise."

Sora gave her a weak, small smile, and Kairi was positive that he was okay. The color seemed to be coming back to his skin, the twinkle in his eye returning. For now, the sad was subdued—and that was alright.

Sora nodded again, blue eyes flashing from the frosty ground back up to the girl in front of him. "Promise," He whispered, repeating her words. His smile grew, becoming a bit more solid. Tired, but solid.

With their promise lingering in the air, Kairi turned and made her way to her building; she glanced back before opening the door and disappearing from sight. Sora stood there a bit longer, toes numb from the cold, an odd hopefulness stirring in his stomach. Then, he made his way back to his own dorm building.

He was a misshapen puzzle piece. But with Kairi, he fit.


	10. Chapter 10

"Everyone—_quiet, Roxas._ Everyone, I have an extremely important announcement to make," Namine called out, her bell-like voice rising. She pulled herself up on the coffee table, dodging the bags of chips and plates of snacks scattered across it, delicately balancing herself.

Everyone in the girls' living room peered up at the blonde girl, waiting patiently for her to deliver some news.

"As you all know," She explained, "_Freedom Day_ comes once a year at the Academy."

Kairi frowned. "_Freedom Day?_"

Roxas, who was sitting beside her, explained. "The one day we're allowed down the mountain, back to the mainland. They bring in dozens of buses and take us down early, and we can spend all day as we please, no teachers watching over you or anything. As long as you make it back to the buses by midnight, you're good."

Kairi laughed. "Sounds fun."

Olette piped in from across the room. "We usually spend it shopping."

Roxas groaned. "Yeah, and you drag me along."

"_Ahem!_" Namine cleared her throat, once again focusing the attention on her. "Anyways, thanks to my lovely skills of deduction and sorcery, I have found from my _sources_ that this years Freedom Day will take place tomorrow. It's supposed to be a surprise."

The girls—Kairi being the exception—let out excited squeals and glanced at each other wildly and started chatting very quickly about shopping for the upcoming winter formal dance.

"They're going to announce it at five o'clock today," Namine spoke happily, hopping off of the coffee table. "Make sure your up early tomorrow—I want to get as much shopping done as possible. Roxas, you're coming."

He groaned. "_Shopping?_"

"I need your opinion on outfits!" Namine cried.

Roxas sighed, but it was clear he was trying to hold back a grin. "Fine, fine, but you owe me big."

Kairi glanced at the clock on the wall, realizing that she was a bit late for her lunch date with Sora. She pulled herself up from her spot on the sofa, dusting off her pants. "I've got to run," She huffed, smiling at Olette as she walked past, "Studying and stuff."

"Kairi—it's _Saturday_. The Saturday before Freedom Day. You don't need to study."

She chewed on the inside of her cheek. "I'm behind in Latin."

Roxas laughed a little. "You study Latin every night."

"Drama, too. I'm lagging," She offered desperately, wanting nothing more than to escape the confines of her dorm building without a hassle and being with Sora. They hadn't hung out in two days—Aqua had begun to question where she always went, so Kairi had figured she should lay low for a while—and it had really started to take its toll on her. No Sora for two days other than drama class was sort of depressing.

"I thought you said you didn't get any homework in drama," Olette questioned.

Her friends' questions weren't all that weird—they were casual, light and not very intrusive—but due to Kairi's terribly lying skills and fear that her friends would hate her if they knew the truth, she began to jump to conclusions and thought her friends' questions more of an interrogation.

Her palms felt sweaty. "Yeah. Well. Um. He assigned some."

"Oh. Whaddya have to do?" Roxas asked, eating some candy from the bowl on the coffee table.

Kairi blinked; her face felt hot. "We—um—we have to read this one book." She sucked in a breath. "I have to find it. In the library."

"Oh!" Namine said, eyes widening. "I have to go to the library later today, pick up some books for fashion studies—I'll probably see you there. I'll look for you."

"_No_," Kairi hissed, heart hammering and palms clammy and forehead hot. "I mean—um, I'll probably be gone by then. I like to, um, walk around. The campus. I walk around the campus."

Everyone seemed frown at her odd behaviour, but didn't question it.

Roxas snorted. "You alright, Kairi?"

She grabbed her coat from the back of her chair and tugged it on. "Hm? Yes. Fine. Great. Good. Yes. Okay…see you guys." Desperate to escape before she could be any more obvious about her lies, she made her way out of the building quickly, occasionally glancing back to make sure they weren't following her. They weren't.

Once she made it to the Grand Library and swept past the many tables and bookcases—which were full today; it was early afternoon, much earlier than Sora and Kairi usually hung out, but she'd made her desperation to see him clear and he'd willingly obliged—she found Sora sitting on the ground in their dark little corner.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," She huffed, tossing her satchel down beside him and falling into an exhausted heap.

He had a dusty old book on his lap, but closed it and set it aside when she sat down. "You look rough," he laughed. "What happened?"

Kairi let out a loud sigh; her face was covered by her jacket and scarf, her words muffled. "Roomies ask _way_ too many questions."

Sora grinned. "Did they corner you?"

"No. Not exactly." She sniffed, her nose runny from the cold. "They didn't even mean anything by it—they were just being friendly. But I'm terrible at acting and _technically_ lying requires that skill, so I just sort of weirded them out and overcompensated. It's embarrassing, really."

His chuckle was deep and throaty and soft. "How are you not failing drama?"

"Mr. Hale hasn't made us act yet," Kairi sighed. "As soon as we do, my average will plummet."

"Maybe you'll learn how to lie," Sora offered hopefully.

Kairi craned her neck to peer up at him, a scowl on her face. "Don't make me hopeful."

"Sorry, sorry."

Kairi pushed herself up so that she was sitting across from Sora, her back against an old, rickety bookcase. "Whatcha wanna do today?"

His eyes seemed particularly bright today. "Can't really do much. We could get food from the café, then walk to our lighthouse."

Kairi nodded. "Sounds perfect, actually. Gets me away from the dormies."

The two gathered their things—Sora helped Kairi up, offering her one of his big hands—and they slipped out of the big, dusty library; they walked through the cold, down the cobblestone paths towards the café, situated beside the Centre. Once they got there, Sora ordered for both of them—they'd gone here enough for him to have Kairi's choices memorized—getting him a hot chocolate and a bagel, and for her, green tea and a slice of carrot cake.

They sipped from their drinks as they slipped away from the campus, making the trek to their lighthouse; once they finally got there, noses red and bodies convulsing with shivers, they huddled close together and ate their snacks. They chatted for the rest of the afternoon, comfortable and thawed out.

"Oh," Kairi said, pulling off her sweater, now too warm. "I forgot to tell you—tomorrow is Freedom Day, or whatever."

Sora's eyebrows lifted. "Tomorrow? Really?" He blinked. "Oh. Cool. You going?"

"Well, yeah—aren't you?" Kairi asked.

He made a face, then shrugged again. "Wasn't planning on it."

She hit him in the arm, frowning. "You're coming."

Sora's face flickered with doubt. "I don't think Freedom Day applies to me."

"Why?" Kairi frowned. "You're a student."

He brushed the topic off. "Yeah, but I don't really belong." Sora's expression twisted up oddly; it wasn't exactly a sad look—it sure as hell wasn't _'the sad'_ as Kairi had come to call it—but it definitely wasn't a happy one.

"Hey," Kairi nudged him with her elbow. "You belong just as much as anyone else does. You got in to the Academy, right? You belong."

Kairi's words did seem to ease his frown, but he let out a little laugh, a bit cold and a bit bitter, that made her think he didn't quite believe her. Before she could question it, he spoke, interrupting her thoughts.

"Not really. _But_," He huffed out, "I might go _if_ you can persuade me."

She punched his arm.

He rubbed his arm in mock pain. "_Ow._ Didn't anyone ever teach you that violence isn't the answer?"

Kairi grinned. "Works pretty well for me. Have I persuaded you, yet?"

"Bully."

She snorted. "Wimp. Anyways—you have to come. Save me from a day of shopping with the girls." She paused, thoughtful. "And Roxas. Please."

Sora made a face. "I thought you _liked_ your friends."

"I do," She insisted. "They're great. But I like you more—and I hate shopping. Come on, _my little idiot_, spare me from the pain."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Pain?"

"They'll make me try on heels."

Sora's lips pushed into a hard, straight line as he tried to suppress a smile. "Well, if you're gonna be in _pain_…" He trailed off, then grinned. "I'll come—as long as you don't ditch me."

"I would never."

A look of concentration and deep thought washed over his gaze, and for a moment, he appeared to be utterly confused. His brow furrowed and his forehead wrinkled, but his lips were twisted into a sly smirk.

Kairi made a face. "What?"

Sora looked at her, breaking out of his trance; his smile grew slightly. "Hm?"

"What're you thinking about?" She narrowed her eyes, recognizing the mischievous sparkle in his eye.

"Nothing," He shrugged, unable to wipe the grin off of his lips. "Wanna know something?" He asked, voice casual.

Kairi sighed, knowing he wouldn't reveal what he was thinking about, so she played along. She leaned back against the wall, eyes looking out at the darkening sky across the lighthouse. "Yes."

Sora looked out the same window, leaning his head against the girls shoulder. He liked this about their relationship; they were comfortable, easy. They could talk about anything. She made him better. "If there were ever a disaster or something," Sora spoke slowly, gently, "Like, a tornado or alien attack, I plan on coming to save you first."

"Oh, really?" Kairi smirked, leaning her head on his.

"Yeah. That'll be the first thing I do. Come find you."

"Alright, well, what do we do once you've found me?" She asked.

Sora thought about that for a moment. "We'd have to find shelter. And food, and water." He shrugged. "We'd come here, I guess."

"The lighthouse?"

"Yeah."

Kairi blinked, thinking it over, and then nodded in agreement. Of _course_ they would come to the lighthouse—it was the safest place, their little sanctuary of warmth and light and happy. Nothing could ever touch it. There would never be any disturbances; it was a haven. She figured even the aliens would respect that.

"And then we'd live together, happily ever after?" Kairi joked, grinning.

Sora laughed. "I think I'd live happily ever after with you around."

Kairi's expression softened, and she leaned further against her spiky-haired boy. "I'd live happily ever after with you too, Sora."

They sat like that for awhile, but Kairi became a bit restless, and she managed to convince Sora to dance with her. She pulled out her ipod, set it on full blast to an energetic playlist and the two jumped around the lighthouse, laughing and giggling as they shared their dance moves. While Kairi's dancing was rather fluent and graceful, Sora pulled out the moves like _the lawnmower_ and _the shopping cart_. He even did a beautiful rendition of _the sprinkler_. Kairi clapped as he danced, smiling so wide that her cheeks hurt.

Once they were completely wiped out from the dancing, they sat down and chatted some more. Then, when the sky was completely dark, they made the short hike back to campus. Sora, as per usual, walked Kairi to her building; Kairi mentioned that they should go to his place first next time, because she didn't know where his dorm was. They said their usual goodbye—_'see you tomorrow?' 'see you tomorrow. promise.'_—and then made a meeting spot so that they could sit together on a bus for Freedom Day. Kairi made her way into her building, getting thoroughly questioned by her friends for her wonky behaviour earlier, and Sora made his way back to his dorm.

When he got to his room, he didn't sleep. He was far too consumed by his excitement for tomorrow. He had a surprise planned, and it seemed to fill his veins with a buzzing anticipation.

Sora fell asleep smiling.


	11. Chapter 11

On the morning of Freedom Day, Kairi's blissful sleep was rudely interrupted by the sounds of shouting and arguing out in the hallway; the lights from the rest of the house were on, a dim glow entering Kairi's room. Knowing she'd never be able to get back to sleep with her roomies yelling at one another so loudly, she put on her slippers and wrapped a blanket around herself, stepping out of her room to see what the cause of the ruckus was.

She was surprised to see that there wasn't much of a problem, not like she'd expected. The yelling was due to the girls all fighting and elbowing one another as they crammed into the washroom, all attempting to get mirror space so that they could do their makeup and hair. Kairi, groggy and tired, asked them what they were doing, and they all seemed shocked that she wasn't awake or ready yet. Apparently, they were getting on the first bus down to the city, one that arrived at six in the morning. Namine explained their gameplan, where they would hit every big store and only have three five minute breaks in between. Kairi told them she'd take one of the later buses down—although, she failed to mention that she wouldn't be spending her day with them. Something told her this wasn't the way to go about explaining her friendship with Sora.

Kairi made her way downstairs to the kitchen, having a bowl of cereal whilst chatting with Roxas, who sat in a chair and was face-down into the island countertop. By the way he spoke, she could tell that he was exhausted—he'd mentioned that Namine had made him stay up with her all night to create their big shopping gameplan—and that he wasn't looking forward to the shopping. When she'd asked him why he was even going if he hated shopping so much, he stated only a single word response. _Namine_.

Soon enough, all of the girls were down in the kitchen, all dressed and done up for the day. They were running out of time—they had to be at the main hall in ten minutes—so they hurriedly stuffed food into their mouths, fighting over the scraps of whatever was left in the pantry. Namine spent her ten minutes convincing Roxas to eat something; when he ate a piece of toast, the group was off, running for the bus, leaving Kairi alone in the dorm.

Slowly but surely, Kairi managed to wake up a bit; she showered, got dressed—in normal clothing, no uniforms—and finished her bowl of cereal. She lounged around for a bit, watched some television and read over a few of her notes before she realized that it was nearly time to meet Sora for the second bus.

When she made it around to their bench—the place where they usually met—and her eyes landed on the spiky-haired boy peering down at a book, dressed in a Henley that matched his eyes, she couldn't help but break out into a wide grin.

"Hey, cutie," She huffed, sitting down beside him; he peered up, surprised by her presence. "Look at you, reading and stuff."

He laughed. "Believe it or not, stupid kids like to read, too."

Kairi frowned. "You're not stupid—I've always known you were a scholar."

"Oh, really?" Sora's lips stretched into a smirk; he seemed caught up in her gaze, like he was trapped in place by a spotlight.

"Really," She nodded. "So—ready to hit the bus?"

Sora nodded, grabbing his backpack placed beside him and putting his book away. "Sure. But, I've got to warn you about something."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"We aren't doing any shopping."

She shrugged as they began to walk towards the main hall. "That's okay. What'll we do—be tourists?"

"I have something planned," Sora replied, not meeting her eyes as they trotted along. The wind that whipped through the campus was cool and bitter, biting through their jackets. Both teens were anxiously anticipating the better weather down, off the mountain. It would be like a breath of fresh air.

"Something planned?" Kairi questioned. "Can I get a hint?"

"Hmm—it has something to do with…screaming."

"_Screaming_." Her cheeks turned red, the heat crawling up her neck before she even had the chance to prevent it.

Sora nodded. "Don't think of it in a gross way, you little perv."

Kairi laughed. "I'm not thinking of it like that. Get out of here."

He snickered. "You're blushing."

She covered her cheeks. "I am not!"

Sora sighed dramatically. "Little Kairi, so pure, _so innocent_. Tainted by the idea of me making her scream." He shook his head. "Tragic, really."

Kairi's cheeks got hotter and she shoved his arm playfully. "You're gross."

Sora seemed incredibly pleased with how red her face was. The closer they got to the main hall, the more noticeable the big bus outside of it was; the crowd outside of it was rather small—probably ten people, tops—and they boarded easily, with seats to spare. People seemed to pay slight attention to Sora and Kairi, who chatted and laughed in their seats the entire way down the mountain, but the two easily ignored them. They didn't even notice; they were far too caught up in one another.

The ride took about an hour and a half, but it flew by for Kairi and Sora; their conversation was quiet, just loud enough for them to hear. At first, they sat close together, giggling and telling stories; eventually, as the drive progressed, Kairi's legs ended up being tossed over Sora's, sprawled over top of him.

Once they'd made it down the mountain and hit the city, Kairi was off of Sora again, eyes staring out of the window in awe. It wasn't that she'd never seen the big city before—she'd passed through it on her way to the Academy—but she'd never really been able to experience it. Now, they were driving directly through the heart of the city, where all of the big theatres and stores and cultural landmarks were. Compared to her little hometown, this was everything. She loved it.

Sora, on the other hand, seemed to be completely mesmerized by her. Rather than look at the window as well, his eyes were stuck on the auburn haired girl beside him; the awe and amazement in her eyes made his lips twist up into a smile, and he found himself struggling to stifle the fluttering in his chest.

The bus pulled to a stop in the parking lot of the _Destiny Islands Grand Museum_, and all of the kids stumbled off of the bus, reeling with excitement. The driver gave them the small spiel, telling them when to return to the buses—midnight—and to be safe. Then, they were completely alone in the big city without a soul watching over them or restricting them. The crowd dispersed, leaving Sora and Kairi at its centre.

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Gonna tell me what your plans are, yet?"

Sora made a face. "Nah. It's a surprise."

"We're already here—tell me."

He wiggled his eyebrows, grabbing Kairi's hand and tugging her along gently. "That's the thing though," He replied, tone dramatically mysterious, "We _aren't_ there."

Sora pulled her along to the curb, then waved his hand; quickly, a taxi pulled up alongside them and they hopped in, slamming the door behind them. Sora mentioned a location that Kairi was unfamiliar with, and the taxi sped off, the city blurring by outside the window. They drove for ten minutes, getting stuck in a bit of traffic, but eventually made it to their destination. Sora paid the driver and they scooted out of the car.

Kairi peered up excitedly, and was surprised and slightly disappointed to see that they were at the train station.

She made a face, trying to hide her dismay. "Gee. This is really nice of you, Sora."

Sora shook his head, laughing at her. "We aren't there yet, dummy." Again, he grabbed her hand—this time, intertwining their fingers—and pulled her along. They passed through the doors, walking beneath the large _SUNSET STATION_ sign that hung above.

He bought two tickets to another place Kairi hadn't heard of, and lingered about until their train had arrived; when the bell rang and the voice over the intercom announced their train, they made their way over to the boarding station and hopped on. The train ride seemed to go by slow for Kairi, probably due to the suspense; she was bad with surprises.

When they finally arrived at their destination and got off the train, Kairi seemed to understand why Sora had taken her here. They left the station building, walking down a long, twisty road, eventually leading them to a hill overlooking a beautiful scene below.

There was a beach, the sand glistening in the hot afternoon sun; the water was blue, each wave cresting with pretty white foam, speckled with people and stands selling food and balloons. On the right side of the beach, there was a huge fair; a large rollercoaster dipped and dived amongst the pale sand, lingering beside a ferris wheel and dozens of other rides. People walking around held balloons and cotton candy, smiling wide; the places was scattered with red-and-white striped tents, each one labelled with a circus act that lay inside. The air was thick, filled with happiness and laughter and cheers of excitement.

Kairi's face lit up with complete and utter joy. "Screaming," She nodded, amazed.

"Not as dirty as you first thought, is it?"

Her blue eyes flickered up to his. "We're spending the day here?"

"If you want," Sora nodded, smiling. "If not, we can head back whenever. Doesn't matter to me."

Kairi blinked, her gaze turning back to the scene below her, on the beach. She deliberated for a moment, and then glanced back to the boy beside her. "We're staying." This time, she reached out and grabbed his hand, dragging him down the hill towards the sand.

The two wandered around the fair for a small bit, trying to decide on what to do first; when Kairi found out that Sora had never had cotton candy before, she immediately pulled him to a cotton candy stall and bought them both sticks of it, making sure she watched Sora's first taste. After he confirmed he liked it—he was lying; he thought it felt weird, but the way she grinned up at him made it easy to hide his disgust—they moved on, towards the rides. Sora made Kairi go on the big rollercoaster, much to her discontent; she screamed the whole time, nearing tears by the end, and eventually just stuffed her face in his chest and slammed her eyes shut. After that, Kairi prohibited any scary rides for at least an hour; instead, she chose one of the rides that spun a lot. Sora felt like he could hurl afterwards, but he didn't mind. He thought it was worth it.

Then, they made their way towards the game stalls; Sora easily won Kairi a toy dolphin and she held onto its fin as they walked about, happy as could be. They went into a few of the circus tents, seeing animals juggling and watching the _Freak Show_—it had a bearded lady, a man who could disappear and reappear several feet away, and a red-headed guy who summoned fiery chakrams. He could throw flames across the room, which nearly torched one tourist; the red-haired man simply smirked, and then disappeared in flames in the middle of the tent.

Then, they went through the haunted house, much to Sora's pleasure. Kairi screamed the entire time, clinging to Sora and nuzzling her face into his shoulder whenever a ghost or demon would pop out at them—not that he minded. He'd wrap his arm around her shoulder and hold her tight whenever something screamed at them, laughing at how terrified she seemed. By the time they'd reached the end, Sora was thoroughly surprised that Kairi was near tears; he bought her a balloon in hopes of making it up to her. She chose out a red one, and he tied it around her wrist.

Clinging to her dolphin toy and the red balloon billowing out behind her, Kairi walked around the fair with Sora dozens of times, unable to choose which ride to go on next. They'd tried a couple of them—the spider, the zipper, the house of mirrors, go karts—but hadn't found one they'd wanted to go on repeatedly yet. When Sora mentioned the big roller coaster again, Kairi hit his arm, simply shaking her head to show her disapproval. They went on a few more rides as the afternoon turned into evening, but eventually settled on the one ride they hadn't tried yet.

The Ferris wheel.

Kairi, in all of her years, had only been to a fair once; it had been in a town a few hours away from her little village, and it had been small and plain. This fair, however, was incredibly grand; as the sunlight dimmed, twinkly lights that were strung above the entire place lit up, giving the entire beach a golden glow. This was her first ride on a Ferris wheel.

The line for the Ferris wheel was nonexistent—apparently, it wasn't a very popular ride—and Sora and Kairi boarded it instantly, being the only people on it. The carnie conducting the ride seemed relieved that someone had wanted to go on it, promising them to give them as long a ride as they wanted.

Almost instantly, Kairi's body froze completely; as they rose up, higher and higher, the sunset over the ocean in front of them became even more spectacular. Every muscle in her body tightened, stiffening; she felt her throat clench and close up, her breath becoming shallow.

At first, Sora didn't notice. "This place is so—" He turned to look at Kairi, words cutting off violently as he saw her expression, noticed the wetness in her eyes. "Woah—you okay?"

People must have noticed them on the Ferris wheel and decided to join in; the wheel stopped—their cart swung a bit, leaving them hanging at the very top—as others hopped into their cart below.

Kairi sniffed, nose runny.

Sora frowned. "Are you scared of heights?" He asked, worried. He'd thought this ride would be fun…

"No," She whispered back, tearing her eyes off of the pink sunset to look at him. "No, it's not that."

He didn't seem to understand. "What is it?"

Kairi's eyes seemed to reflect the golden pink of the sunset as she looked back at it. Now, the wetness in her eyes had formulated into something; a simple tear rolled down her cheek as she looked over the water, sniffling. "It feels like I'm at home," She whispered gently. "Like I'm up in my attic, watching the sunset. It feels the same."

Sora's blue eyes dropped to his feet for a moment. "That's why I brought you here," He shrugged. "I know you've been homesick, so I figured seeing the ocean would make you feel better." He looked at the tears slipping down her cheeks with a slight frown. "Guess not."

Kairi laughed a little, shaking her head. "These are happy tears, dummy."

Sora made a face. "They look the same as sad tears."

"They're different," She huffed, wiping her cheeks and trying to get a hold of herself. She blinked, looking at him. "How did you know I was homesick?" The wheel began to spin again and they swooped down, revolving.

He shrugged and swallowed, and she could see his adam's apple bob. "Whenever we go to the lighthouse—I see the way you look at the ocean, even from all the way up there. And how you talked about your little town." He shrugged again. "Seems like the sort of place someone would miss."

It surprised her how much he'd been paying attention. "So, you did this just for me?" She wiped under her eyes again.

Sora blushed, then shrugged again. "It's no big deal," He glanced down, as if looking away from her would prevent her from seeing how hot his face was. "I thought it would remind you of home."

Kairi looked at him, feeling both happy and sad all at once. "You remind me of home," She murmured, looking back at the golden water.

"I do?"

"Yeah—you're like my ocean." She paused, smiling to herself as the memories of her home flooded back to her, all of them reminding her of Sora. "You're calm and you're happy and warm and you're always there."

A flicker of amusement flashed onto Sora's face—he'd never thought of describing himself in _that_ light before—but it quickly wiped away, revealing a bit softer of an expression.

An ache ripped through Kairi's heart, one that made her realize how terribly she missed her dad and her tall, little house and her island. She missed her sunsets and her beach and her ocean, and she missed the way everyone knew one another in her town and how school wasn't much pressure. She missed sitting at home watching sports on television with her dad when it was late, and watching the lightning storms over the ocean from the front porch. But, as she realized how sad she was and how badly she missed them, she realized that she had one thing that made it better. She had one thing that didn't make missing her home all that bad. She had Sora, her boy with the ocean eyes, the ones that made her feel like she was home.

"Thank you," She said, looking back to him. "For bringing me here and making me laugh and spending your time with me and not caring about grades or being a _B_ or an _A_ or an _above_, or whatever. And thanks for studying with me even when you didn't want to, and thanks for not missing any drama class and thanks for being my partner, and—"

"Kairi!" Sora laughed, big hands gently gripping her shoulders. "It's okay. You don't have to thank me."

She blinked. "Why not?"

"Because," He grinned at her, ocean eyes sparkling and twinkling in the dim light of the setting sun. "I get more out of it than you do. Trust me."

"You know," Kairi sighed, settling back into their seat. "I really like you."

Sora tried to hide the fact that his insides were bursting with happiness. "Gross," He shot back sarcastically. When Kairi gawked and hit him in the arm, he laughed. "Kidding, kidding—I like you, too. Even when you make me study."

Unable to contain her gratefulness for him, she let out a sigh and pressed her forehead to his neck, cuddling into him. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his waist. "Thank you."

For a split second, he seemed caught off guard; quickly, he composed himself and his big hands slid around her waist, holding her weight carefully. One wrong move, and the cart would tip, dumping them out with it. "Thank you, too," He whispered back, voice gravelly and warm. After a second, he frowned. "You're not gonna cry again, are you?"

Kairi laughed. "No, I think I'm okay."

"Good," He replied, relieved. "I can't handle tears."

"Why not?"

He seemed to think about that for a moment. "I just think someone like _you_ should be smiling all the time. No sad faces."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Someone like me?"

"Yeah—happy and light and beautiful." The words rushed out of him quickly, and only after they'd been said did he seem to realize what he'd spoken. He flinched. "I mean—just don't be sad, okay? Everything's better when you're happy."

Kairi's cheeks got warm; she leaned back. "You shouldn't be sad, either."

Sora's eyes fell a little bit—as they usually did whenever his sad was mentioned—but in a more thoughtful sort of way. His long eyelashes fluttered as he blinked, and he glanced down quickly, then back to Kairi. "It's getting better. You make it better."

Although this was new, having Sora actually acknowledge his sadness, Kairi got the feeling that prodding him about the causes of it were still off limits. His walls were still up, but she was close to finding the door that would let her through them. The timing just wasn't right, not yet.

The Ferris wheel turned, bringing them to the very bottom; the carnie smiled at them, asking them if they wanted to keep going or to get off. Sora said they'd get off, telling Kairi that they had one more _very important_ thing to do while here.

He grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers, and gently pulled her along across the entire boardwalk. They walked along it until there weren't any more red tents alongside them, until the twinkly lights dwindled into complete darkness; they were on the far, deserted side of the beach, out of hearing range from the crowd beneath the lights, enjoying the fair.

"Here," Sora said, pulling them to a stop. On this side of the beach, over the hillock, everything was dark and calm; the only sound was the lull of the waves hitting the shore, gently lapping against the rocks and the sand.

Kairi turned to him, every nerve in her body electric when she realized that their hands were still delicately intertwined. She blinked, not understanding. "Here?"

Sora nodded and lightly let go of her hands. "We're swimming."

Her eyes widened. "_Swimming?_"

He pulled off his sweatshirt, revealing his toned stomach. "Swimming."

"Sora, it's _dark_," Kairi pointed out.

"Don't tell me you've never swam in the dark."

"Was never allowed," She shrugged. "Usually I just snuck out and listened to the waves."

"Well," Sora smirked, pulling off his shoes, "It's your lucky day—we're night-swimming."

"I don't have a bathing suit!"

He made a face. "Who cares?"

Kairi's eyes widened even more. "There is _no way_ I am _skinny dippi_—"

Sora snorted. "_Kairi._ Relax. Just take off your shoes and wear your shorts and tank top. You can wear my sweater home."

She frowned, then peered out at the dark, beautiful water; the waves sounded just like they did at her house, somehow loud like a roaring river and quietly soothing at the same time. She felt compelled to oblige, to feel the water around her just like she did at home; the water looked cool and slippery, enticing. She scrunched her face together, then kicked off her shoes. "Ugh—_fine_."

Sora grinned. "Hah. I knew you were brave."

Kairi glanced at him, then ran off towards the water. "Last one to the water is a big fat loser!" She giggled as she ran away, her steps slow and short in the slippery sand.

Sora laughed, easily catching up to Kairi with his long strides; he wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her slightly, putting him in the lead and placing her behind him.

"Not fair!" She cried.

"You didn't say there were rules!" He called back, splashing into the water quickly and diving under as soon as he hit the deeper patch of it. The water was cold, but it felt nice; he surfaced quickly, shaking the water from his hair. When he looked back, he found Kairi still at shore, her feet not touching the water. "C'mon, Kairi."

She was looking down at her feet, watching the waves reach out for her toes but never quite crossing the gap. Kairi looked up, seeing the grinning boy in the waves calling to her, and then back down to the water. It seemed like some odd sort of barrier to cross—like putting her feet in the water with Sora was opening a new door. She felt as though as soon as she _did_ touch the water, she'd be hooked on this boy, unable to let go of him.

"Kairi," He laughed, "Don't be grump just because you're the big fat loser."

Grinning, she stepped into the water, gladly accepting whatever fate she was given, as long as it had Sora in it.

They splashed around for a bit—although, it took Kairi at least twenty minutes to work herself up to going completely underwater—wrestling and tossing water at one another. After that, they'd gone in search for pretty shells and rocks; they'd given up on that idea quickly, though, because it was far too dark to see anything. For the most part, they just swam around, chatting like they usually did; Kairi was in particularly high spirits, regarding that day as one of her top three.

Once the evening grew later and the wind picked up a bit, Kairi got a bit cold; every wave that hit her feeling like icewater, she climbed up onto Sora's shoulders and clung to him. His hands grasped her thighs to steady her and keep her from falling, which sent her heart into a bit of a frenzy, although she dismissed it as hyperthermia.

Eventually, though, they both knew it was time to go. They went back on shore and gathered their things—Sora gave Kairi his sweatshirt; she hid around the small cove and tore off her wet shirt, pulling Sora's sweater over top. They grabbed their shoes, and Kairi grabbed her dolphin that Sora had won for her—she'd lost her balloon at one point during the day—and made their way back up across the road to the train station. They boarded their train quickly, without a problem, and chatted the entire way; once they'd returned to the big city, they had to quickly rush to their bus to make it in time.

Once on the bus, everything slipped into a calm lull. Every passenger on the bus was exhausted from whatever it was they'd done all day, and so it was filled with quiet conversation; Kairi tried her best to stay awake and talk with Sora, but her yawns eventually got the best of her and she drifted off, cheek smushed up against Sora's bare shoulder as she leaned on him.

When the bus stopped in front of the main hall at the Academy, Sora gently woke Kairi up; they grabbed their things and stumbled off of the bus, dazed and exhausted. Kairi, in her groggy state, mentioned something about how she was glad they had tomorrow off; the Academy always booked the day after Freedom Day off for kids to recover from their long hours of freedom.

Knowing that their incredible day had to come to an end sometime, Sora walked Kairi back to her dorm. They chatted quietly, but were for the most part quiet; Kairi was far too tired to handle any long conversations. They had to walk quickly; they were back up on the mountain in the chilly weather, and Sora was half nude due to giving Kairi his sweatshirt.

When they arrived in front of her building, she turned to him and mumbled something about giving his sweater back the next day. He stopped her, though, and told her to keep it; he said that it could be another keepsake of their day at the beach. They chatted a bit more—although, Kairi could see his lips turning blue from the cold—and then they said their usual goodbyes.

This time, before leaving, Kairi stepped in close and gave Sora a kiss on the cheek. She turned and left before she could see his reaction, too shy to glance back; she pulled open the door and stepped in, the warmth blanketing her immediately. When Kairi glanced out of the window, Sora was gone, probably running back to his dorm freezing his ass off.

As per usual, she was met with a number of questions by her roomies: they asked her where she'd gone, why she didn't show up to shop with them, why her hair and clothes were wet. She explained that she'd been invited by some kids she didn't know to go to this beach fair—again, this wasn't the time to tell them about her secret friendship with the boy they despised—and that they'd had a great time. Too tired to answer anymore questions, she made her way upstairs to her bedroom and slipped into her pajamas, and hopped into bed.

After a moment of hesitation, she grabbed Sora's sweater and pulled it on, cuddling into it as she fell into a gentle sleep, smiling at the smell of him. Her lips felt tingly where she'd kissed his cheek.

It was the second night she dreamt of Sora.


	12. Chapter 12

_Tap, tap._

Kairi's eyes sprung open, staring up at her ceiling through the darkness that clung to every corner and crevice in her room. The strange, surprising sound had woken her up and scared her; heart hammering fast, her hands clung to her blankets tightly.

_Tap._

Realizing the sound was coming from her window, Kairi held her breath. Part of her strongly urged her body to move, to get up and look out the window and find the cause of the sound, but the other part of her held her down, frozen. All her life, she'd been the person who had yelled at horror movies and their stupid characters, telling them to _never_ look for the cause of funny noises or to go down to the basement when the lights were out. It was just illogical. But now that it was sort of happening to her, she _had_ to know where the sound was coming from—not to satisfy her curiosity, but to enable her to have a peaceful sleep.

Throwing the heavy blankets and quilts that coated her to the side, she grumbled under her breath and crossed the bed. She peered out of her second story window to the frozen ground below—which stall lacked any sight of snow, much to Kairi's annoyance—and was surprised to see a familiar silhouette on the frosty grass.

Making a face, she opened her window; the cold air broke in to her warm bubble and bit at her thin pajamas. "_Sora?_" She hissed, blinking. She was so tired her sight was a bit blurry. "What the hell are you doing?"

He only seemed to be wearing pajama pants, his chest bare. Sora hopped around on his feet, trying to get away from the frozen ground due to his lack of shoes or socks. "I'm coming up!"

Kairi narrowed her eyes. "What? You'll get hurt, don't—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, Sora had clung to the thick vines sprawling across the face of her dorm building; he climbed up it easily, agilely, without any trouble. Within a few seconds, he was beside her window, big blue eyes looking at her.

She was surprised at how terrible he looked. Beneath his eyes were big, black bags that looked more like ink, permanently patched onto his flesh; his body language was slow, hesitant. He looked paler than usual, his skin sunken in a bit, other than his cheeks which had grown red from the cold. Most noticeable of all, though, were his eyes. There was a terrible hollowness to them, like he was missing something essential; there was no twinkle, no spark in them. He looked exhausted and broken.

Sora looked different than he usually did when he was sad. This wasn't some attack of emotions, not like usual—this was worse. He looked shaken up, shattered. His eyes flickered up to hers, begging her to make him feel better.

Kairi could see her breath when she spoke. "Come on—it's cold," She pushed away from the window and stepped back, allowing him proper space to get in. He swung his legs in and jumped through easily, landing smoothly and straightening up.

Kairi pushed past him and closed the window, struggling slightly, then turning back to him. In the faint glow from a faraway streetlamp, his nose and cheeks looked even more pink than she'd first thought. He was shaking slightly, teeth chattering. She lifted her hands and placed them on his cheeks. "You're freezing," She noted, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the bed. Kairi lifted the blankets and they both crawled in, covering up; he huddled into her and she held his hands, trying to thaw them out.

When Sora spoke, his words were choppy and shaky due to his shivering. "S-Sorry, so sorr-ry," He lifted their hands to his mouth and breathed on them; Kairi rubbed his fingers gently.

"What's wrong?" She asked, looking up at him.

Sora blinked a couple times, mouth open but no sound coming out. After a few seconds, his eyes fell away from hers. "Bad dream. Couldn't sleep. Need someone."

Kairi's legs accidentally bumped against Sora's; through his sweatpants, she could feel the cold radiating from him. She intertwined their legs, pressing hers against his and rubbing her feet against his calves, desperately trying to warm him.

"What was it about?"

Feeling her legs touch his, he wrapped himself around her, legs and feet now a tangled mess under the sheets. "There was this…_thing_," He struggled with finding the words. "This big black monster and it sort of just ate me up, and I saw—" His breath cut off quickly and his eyes flickered up and away from Kairi quickly. Sora let out a sigh; it was rough and painful. "My mom. She was crying and then she let out this _scream_, and then I was gone."

Kairi noticed how shaky his voice was. "You okay?"

Sora's face was blank for a moment, and then he grimaced and cuddled closer to Kairi, tucking his cold, bare chest against her t-shirt and pressed his nose into her shoulder. "No," He responded. Then, after another moment, a quiet whisper. "I feel like I'm losing myself. Like I'm gonna slip away."

One of Kairi's hands reached up and touched Sora's ice cold cheek, stroking it. "I wouldn't let you slip away," She shook her head. "I wouldn't—you're too special, Sora. You won't lose yourself. I promise. I won't let you."

He didn't lift his head. "You won't?"

"No," She whispered breathily, "I'll remind you every day—of how good you are and how important you are." Kairi paused. "Don't be sad—please. I like it when you smile."

Sora's breath was hot on her skin; one of his big hands rested on her waist. He didn't speak, but she could feel his eyelashes tickling her shoulder when he blinked, and that was enough. After a few silent moments, struggling to find the proper way to thank her, Sora simply pressed his lips to her shoulder, hoping she'd understand.

Kairi wrapped an arm around his neck, smiling to herself slightly. She understood.

They stayed like that for hours—Kairi had given up on the whole prospect of going to sleep; staying with Sora was more fun, and she didn't particularly care about the fact that she had an exam first thing in the morning—bodies tangled together, occasionally murmuring words to one another. Eventually, Sora's body warmed up, but they didn't separate. It was too comfortable.

He'd started to get the sparkle back in his eyes, the horrible hollowness evaporating with every second he spent with Kairi. She was like medicine to him, a type that chased away the bad nightmares and the bad thoughts and the remembering.

They talked about everything. Sora asked about Kairi's friends and she talked about them all, explaining how wonderfully dramatic Namine was and how lovely Roxas was to her and how they'd been friends since the first second she'd met them; he asked about her hometown a bit more and she told him stories from her childhood and talked about her two best friends from kindergarten and described her dad. He'd asked her about all sorts of things. He liked to listen to her, and Kairi liked seeing his expression of curiosity when she spoke; she asked him a few things, but much like before, he wasn't quite ready and didn't say much.

Then, around dawn, they fell into a heavy, cozy sleep; their legs were tangled together again and Kairi's head was on Sora's chest and his arms were around her, holding her softly. She would drift up and down and he breathed in and out, like she was swimming or floating on a wave in her ocean. They were in their own warm little bubble of happiness, fitting together comfortably. Their body heat was so high that eventually, they ditched the quilts altogether and slept uncovered, intertwined with one another.

When morning came, they were hit with a rude awakening.

Usually, Kairi was up at six thirty so that she could properly shower, get ready, get dressed and have breakfast with the roomies. This time, however, due to her incredible lack of sleep and being momentarily drugged by the smell of Sora, she hadn't woken up. Being good friends, her roommates didn't wake her—if she needed some extra sleep, they'd allow her to have it. One by one, they all left to their classes, leaving only one person in the house awaiting her awakening: _Roxas_.

At first, he'd thoroughly agreed that Kairi shouldn't be woken up and that she should be able to sleep in if she really needed it. Considering she hadn't even left her room yet and showered, he could tell that she must have had an awful night's sleep. But, as time ticked closer to her first class and her big exam, he began to hesitate.

Finally, when there was only ten minutes until Kairi's class—just enough time to run across campus and arrive on time—he hopped up the stairs and opened her door.

"Hey, Kairi, there's only about ten minu—_gah!_ Holy shit! Oh. _Oh._" Roxas' eyes widened as he stared at the bed, at the two bodies twisted around each other. "_What the hell?_"

Kairi's eyes snapped open, still in a bit of a daze. She lifted her head, tired eyes landing on Roxas. "Oh. Hey, Roxas," She yawned. Then, everything seemed to hit her at once: Roxas in the doorway, the warm body beside her. Blue eyes wide, she let out a cry. "_Agfh_—Roxas, it's not—"

Roxas' voice was a harsh, yell-like whisper. "You're sleeping with _Sora?_"

Kairi cringed, looking back at Sora, who was still fast asleep. "We didn't _do_ anything!" She hissed back.

"Why isn't he wearing a shirt?"

"He sleeps _shirtless!_"

"You'd only know that if you're sleeping with him!"

"_He came over shirtless—_I'm just assuming!"

Sora stirred slightly, and Roxas glanced over at him, then back to Kairi. "_Come here_," He whispered, nodding towards the hallway. "Let him sleep. We need to chat."

Kairi met his harsh glare and felt her heart sink; she peered at Sora's peaceful, sleeping expression and sighed, slipping out of his warm grip and hopped out of the bed silently. She walked past Roxas and into the hallway; he closed the door behind them and gave her a harsh glare.

She met his eyes. "We didn't sleep together."

"Alright, explain, then."

Kairi licked her lips, sighing. "We're friends."

Roxas lifted his eyebrows.

"_Good_ friends. He's my drama partner." She paused. "He came over because he couldn't sleep—we talked and accidentally passed out."

Roxas' eyes narrowed at Kairi, and he could see she wasn't lying. "You're friends with him?" He blinked.

She looked at the ground. "Look, if you're gonna give me some _stern talking to_ about being friends with the kid that everyone hates, I'm not going to listen. He's the nicest person and we laugh a lot and he makes me feel better. So don't piss me off and try to talk me out of it, because I won't listen."

Roxas frowned. "Talk you out of it?" He shook his head. "Kairi—if you want to spend time with him, spend time with him. It's not really any of my business." He paused. "_Unless_ you were sleeping with him—then I would get a bit protective. No sex."

"We wouldn't," She shrugged off the topic. "But—I thought you hated him."

"Personally, I'm rather indifferent on the subject. He's one of my roommates—he's quiet. I like that." Roxas paused, frowning for a second. "You know, you should probably not tell this girls about this, though…"

"That's why nobody has found out 'till now," Kairi sighed, leaning against the wall. "They'd flip. You know how much trouble they think he is."

"They aren't wrong, you know," Roxas shrugged.

"He's not trouble," Kairi made a face. "Nobody's gotten to know him."

Roxas' blue eyes watched her steadily. There was something about them that Kairi loved ever since she'd met him—you could tell, just by looking into his eyes, that he was trustworthy. Calm, collected. He was reliable. "Have _you_?"

"I know him enough to know that he's good," She said. "That's all I need."

"Alright," Roxas nodded. "I know you're a big girl, Kairi, but…just don't get hurt, okay?" He blinked at her carefully. "I'm not saying he's going to hurt you, but you know how things happen…"

"I won't," Kairi assured him. "He wouldn't let me get hurt. He's a bit protective."

"So am I. If anything happens—if you ever need me—you know, I'll always be around and—"

Kairi smiled. "I know, Roxas. Thanks."

That seemed to relieve Roxas a little, but his eyes were still protective, careful. "So, every time you left and said you were studying—"

Kairi made a face, nodding. "With Sora," She nodded. "Every time."

"And all those times you said you were going for a walk?"

"With Sora."

"And when you would run to the café?"

"At the café with Sora," Kairi nodded, a small smile forming on her lips. She hadn't really noticed how much time she'd been spending with him.

"Huh," Roxas scratched the back of his head. "You know, we're some of the smarter kids on campus, and we didn't figure that one out."

"We happen to be very sneaky people," Kairi laughed. "Sorry, though."

"For what?"

"Lying," Kairi shrugged, looking at her bare feet. "Feels pretty awful hiding things from you."

"Hey," Roxas nudged her, grinning. "Don't feel bad, Kairi. I'm glad you have each other. It's good to have a best friend, take away a bit of pressure."

Kairi's eyes flickered to the boy in front of her. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" She asked. "They'll be so disappointed—"

"Relax, Kairi. Your secret is safe with me."

She raised an eyebrow. "Even from Namine?" She was perfectly aware of how loyal Roxas was to the pretty blonde.

He nodded easily. "Even from Namine."

Kairi sprung forward and wrapped her arms around Roxas, embracing him tightly; he hugged her back, and she smiled into his grey hoodie. "Thank you," She whispered.

"If he hurts you, I will choke the life out of him," Roxas murmured, chuckling a little. He leaned back. "Only if you want."

She giggled a bit. "Yeah—I'll take a raincheck on that. But, thank you."

Roxas smiled, and it was so bright that he reminded her of the sun. "No problem. I've always got your back. Don't forget."

Kairi stepped towards her closed bedroom door. "Does that mean you'll cover for us?"

Roxas made a face, but nodded. "Sure—that's what friends are for, right?"

"Right," She smiled back. The first second she'd met Roxas, she'd gotten the feeling he was good, and this moment only reinstated that belief. He was a good friend. She should buy him lunch sometime to thank him.

"Better get back to sleeping beauty," Roxas laughed, eyes flickering down to his feet. "And don't be late for class. You've only got about ten minutes. I'm heading out."

"Class. Right. Thanks." Kairi blinked, then smiling at Roxas as he headed towards the stairs. "Thanks, Roxas. You're the best."

As he hopped down the steps and turned out of sight, he called back, "I know! You owe me!" Then stepped out into the chilly weather, the front door slamming behind him.

Kairi took a breath, leaning against her closed bedroom door. Finally, someone knew about her secret friendship—and it hadn't been a bad response. Roxas hadn't minded. To be fair, he was the most level-headed of the entire gang and the most accepting by far, but it was still progress. There was this fuzzy feeling in the pit of Kairi's stomach, joy radiating from her chest. Roxas hadn't gotten mad. He hadn't been disappointed. He'd been…welcoming of the thought.

She couldn't have expected that in her wildest dreams.

When she pushed open her bedroom door and stepped in, she was surprised to see Sora awake—albeit, slightly—and sitting up, the pillow propped up behind him. His hair was messy and poked out erratically; his blue eyes were clouded with grogginess. He turned to look at her, looking both confused and hesitant.

"Hey," Sora breathed, voice deep and tired and rocky.

Kairi smirked. "Your morning voice is cute," She laughed. She made her way across the room and sat on the edge of the bed—she caught sight of herself in the mirror for a quick moment and tried to hastily, yet subtly fix her rats-nest of hair.

Sora's eyes seemed permanently stuck on the blankets. "I'm really sorry for just coming over," He muttered, sounding as if he were upset with himself. "I shouldn't have—"

Kairi made a face, shrugging. "I wanted you over, Sora. Don't apologize."

"You wanted me over?"

"I always want you over."

His eyebrows shot up; that seemed to surprise him. "Oh," He blinked. "Well—maybe next time we have a sleepover at my dorm. Y'know—to pay you back for rudely intruding into your bed."

Kairi blushed slightly at the idea, hoping Sora wouldn't notice. "Deal—how about tomorrow night?"

"Sounds…" Sora's cheeks looked a bit more pink, and his eyes flickered shyly from the sheets to Kairi's eyes. "Great."

They sat there for a moment, blushing and looking at one another, before Sora grudgingly broke the quiet.

"You're gonna be late for class," Sora sighed, flipping the blankets off of him. And your exam. I'll walk you."

"_No_," Kairi spoke up, blushing more once she'd realized how forceful her outburst had been. "I mean—no. I don't want to go. I want to stay with you."

Sora smirked. "You have an exam, Kairi."

"I don't care."

He squared his shoulders to her, raising an eyebrow. "You don't care—_about an exam?_"

She grinned. "Nope."

"Huh," Sora snorted. "You're turning into a bit of a rebel."

"You've rubbed off on me," Kairi shrugged.

She was surprised with the intensity that she clung to Sora, the strong urge to stay with him rather than go to class. She never wanted to go to class again, if it meant being with him. His eyes and his smile and his softness seemed so much more compelling; any class, any test seemed fruitless in comparison. Something deep inside her made her feel like it would be impossible to leave him, like not having him nearby to talk to or look at or just depend on would destroy her. Kairi was becoming increasingly attached to him, and it was becoming noticeable.

Of course, it was the exact same for Sora. He'd felt like this for a long time, probably since the moment they'd met. He'd always been missing something and Kairi had always filled in the gaps, and he wasn't sure why. She was gentle and she was light, and that seemed to fill the dark void in his chest. Sora didn't want to be away from her. In his opinion, any time not with Kairi was a waste. Not that she was aware of any of this, though.

"Alright," He smirked. "What are we doing today, badass?"

Kairi's lips twisted up into an inevitable smile, and she grinned, diving completely into Sora and forgetting her own.


	13. Chapter 13

For Kairi, things were starting to fly by far too quickly—specifically, night-time. Her and Sora had begun to have nightly sleepovers, ones that consisted of whispering and laughing and waking up with their bodies tangled together in a giant heap. They mostly went to Sora's dorm—which, to Kairi's dismay, was a lot nicer than hers—because they wouldn't be caught by any nosey girl roommates there. Whenever Namine and they others noticed she wasn't in their building, Roxas would usually cover for her and say he saw her leave early to go the library.

The days flew by so fast, in fact, that Kairi had completely forgotten about one important date, one that everyone seemed to be looking forward to.

_Visiting Day._

It was the one day parents and families were allowed to come to the Academy and visit their children attending the school. They would round up all of the kids that were in the same year, stick them all into one of the big halls, and call them out when their family arrived. They would have the entire day off with their family or whoever it was that came to visit, but would have to stay on school grounds. Either way, it was a great chance to catch up with loved ones—and Kairi was excited to see her dad.

So, when everyone in her year was piled up into a large room in the Centre and awaited being called out, she couldn't help but feel the surge of adrenaline through her veins. Knowing it might be awhile before she was called—she didn't know when her father had left or when he would arrive—she searched around the giant, packed room. Struggling to push through the thick crowd of people, she tried to look overtop for the familiar head of spikes, but couldn't see; grunting, she pushed forwards, hoping she would stumble across her boy eventually. Overhead, the loud speaker came on, announcing ten unfamiliar student names, informing them that their families had arrived and that they could meet them outside. Kairi thought the entire ordeal was a bit unnecessary—why couldn't families just meet their children at their dorms, without any of this business?—but she supposed it was so that the faculty could keep tabs on their students, know who had left and who was still around to prevent any kids from skipping class.

"Kairi!" A voice called, high above the loud murmur.

Kairi turned, eyes landing on Namine a little ways away; she pushed through the crowd, making her way towards the blonde. Beside Namine was Roxas; he gave her a warm smile. "Hey, guys," She greeted, having to speak a bit louder to be heard over the chatter.

"Is your dad coming up?" Roxas asked, hard to hear.

Kairi nodded. "Yeah—what about you two?"

"My older brother is coming up," Roxas explained. "And Namine's parents should be here any minute."

"That's great," Kairi smiled, slightly distracted as she scanned the crowd for Sora. "Hey—I'll see you guys tonight, yeah?"

"Of course," Namine smiled.

Kairi stepped back and within a second her two friends had been sucked up into the crowd, disappearing from sight. Pushing her way gently through the crowd, attempting to be as polite as possible, she continued to look around for her best friend. She knew he was here somewhere—skipping was strictly prohibited on Visiting Day. The Dean didn't want anyone to skip class if their visitor never arrived.

The intercom bleeped on, calling out over a dozen students, announcing that their families had arrived. Within those names were Namine and Roxas—but no Sora. Knowing he was still within the hall, she pushed even harder through the hordes of people. If she was spending the majority of the day with her dad, she wouldn't have nearly enough time with Sora—she had to make the best of it, find him as quickly as possible. It was like he was a drug and she was terribly addicted—just a sleepover with him tonight wouldn't suffice. She needed more.

"Sora!" She cried, eyes landing on the spiky-haired boy sitting in the back corner all alone. His head snapped up and looked to her, and it dawned on her that he wasn't completely alright. He didn't look awful, per say, but he didn't look good; the bags under his eyes were harsh against his skin, the look in his ocean eyes horrid and scary. Kairi pushed closer to him, finally breaking free from the crowd and entering his little bubble of solitude. Nobody wanted to go near him. "Hey—are you okay?" She asked, voice thick with concern.

He looked tired; he craned his neck to look up at her. He didn't speak, but his expression seemed to say enough—he looked wrecked, broken like he had the first night he'd come to sleep with Kairi.

She wanted to sit down beside him and ask him everything and try to make him smile like usual, but the raspy voice over the intercom started listing off the names again, this time including hers. Her heart fluttered, anticipation surging through her body at the thought of her father being so close, only minutes away. Her head snapped toward the direction of the door, then back to Sora, looking bleak and dark on the ground.

He seemed to understand. "Go."

Kairi made a face, then kneeled down beside him. "I want to listen, Sora—meet me in the corridor by the theatre at five o'clock, okay? We can talk then. I'm really sorry—I've just gotta go," She whispered, pressing her lips to his cheek before standing up and hurriedly pushing through the crowds, heart now lifted up with excitement and buried down with guilt.

When she finally broke through the crowd and pushed out of the hall, she was met with a joyful cry from her father. She rushed towards him and hugged him, breaking down into tears immediately. She'd underestimated how much she'd missed him.

Before they walked off, Kairi turned back and looked through the glass door into the hall; although she couldn't see Sora, who sat on the far side, she could feel his sorrow. Guilt for leaving him when he looked so awful seemed to hold her down, preventing her from having a fully happy time with her father.

Kairi took her dad down to the café—it had taken them at least an hour to get their order; apparently, that had been the first stop for all the students and their parents—and then they sat out on one of the benches. It wasn't all that cold that day, so they made the best of it; she showed him every part of the campus, even the places she hadn't worked up visiting yet. Better late than never, she guessed.

She showed him her dorm building and her room, talked to him about all of her classes and her friends, explaining who liked what and how they all were. She mentioned Sora generally, not pointing him out or making him sound anymore special than the others, even though that was the case. She knew if she was too specific, her dad would catch on that this boy was important and would tease her about it, so she kept it pretty quiet.

Her dad told her about everything that had gone on back home in her absence: family dramas, deaths, births, injuries and dilemmas. He gave her notes that her two best friends had written for her, which were jam-packed with pictures and photos and kind '_we miss you'_ signatures from the people back home.

They told stories and laughed, and it was almost like she was back home and they were sitting in their shitty little beach shack, eating leftover pizza and listening to the sounds of the ocean. Kairi had missed her dad—she'd noticed how much older he looked; there were bits of gray flecks in his dark tresses—and a part of her was scared for when he would leave. He was her family, her entire past life—how was she supposed to handle things without him, without speaking to him?

Of course, she knew exactly how she was going to handle things—with Sora around, it would be easy.

Kairi and her father headed off to dinner at one of the restaurants on campus—again, it took a while to get their order; every place on campus was stock-full of families of students—and chatted more, the knowledge that he would have to leave right away lingering over them both. Once they were done eating, Kairi walked him back to the main hall where he was parked; he would have to leave right away if he wanted to make it back home for work tomorrow.

They'd walked back in the Centre to grab his things; as they did so, they'd passed the big hall she'd been crammed into earlier that day. As she strode past, she looked through the glass door. The large hall was deserted, as she'd expected—all of the students had met up with their families and left—except for one small figure in the far back corner, sitting on the ground. The figure's spiky hair was quivering slightly, it's body shaking. Kairi's throat tightened and her chest ached when she realized that Sora had not met up with his family, had not been escorted out of the room. According to the rules, he wasn't permitted to leave before five o'clock unless a visitor came to get him—and so, there he was, crying and alone in the back of the hall. Kairi grabbed her father's things and ushered him out to his car, packing them in the trunk. She hugged him tightly, whispered that she loved him in his ear, and didn't cry until he had driven out of sight.

Then, she quickly made her way to the nearest washroom and broke down, her sadness and love for her dad erupting over her and suffocating her momentarily. After about twenty minutes, she was far too tired to have her emotions take any more control of her; she wiped her tears, washed her face with some cold water, and hurriedly made her way towards the arts building, realizing that she was late for meeting Sora.

The corridors were dark; only every fifth or sixth light in the hallways was on, leaving long, dark patches lit by the a soft glow from one several paces away. Kairi peered around, looking for Sora, hoping he'd came. Part of her was terrified he wouldn't—after all, she'd deserted him. He'd been all alone, and she'd left him there.

Then, as she neared the entrance to the theatre, she made out a figure in one of the dim sections of the hall leaning against the stone wall. Picking up the pace a little bit, she called out.

"Sora?"

There wasn't a reply. She sped up, jogging slightly.

When she was only a few steps away, she heard the sniffling coming from the boy; her eyes had adjusted enough to see that it was indeed Sora, his back pressed against the stone, his head casted downwards. Kairi didn't bother with a greeting; instead, she flung herself at him and hugged him tightly, wrapping her arms around his body and pressing her lips to his collarbone a dozen times, kissing up his shoulder and back down to his neck. They were small, sweet, apologetic kisses, and she hoped he would understand.

"I'm so sorry, Sora, I shouldn't have left—I should have stayed, I just wasn't thinking I—"

He cut her off, wrapping his arms around her in response. His grip on her was gentle but there was an urgent need behind it; his face dipped and he pressed his nose to her shoulder before breaking down into terrible sobs that echoed throughout the corridor.

Kairi felt like she was being ripped apart. She hugged herself against him, pressing him against the wall as she held him; her soft kisses slowed into nothing, her lips brushing against his neck as they stood, silently intertwined.

And then, before any more apologies could be made, there were the click of heels echoing through the stone hall, suddenly close and right beside them. Then, a voice; at first it was soft, apologetic—and then, surprised.

"Sora," The voice breathed, upset. "I'm so sorry. You _know_ I wouldn't make you go through tha—_oh._"

Kairi, realizing that they were no longer alone in the hall, pulled away from Sora; her eyes flickered to the location of the voice, recognizing it. To her surprise, she found the Dean staring at them wide-eyed; her hair was down, loose and messy, and she looked exhausted and bleak.

The Dean's eyes flickered from Sora to Kairi. Eyebrows pulling down, she murmured, "_Sora…_" Her tone becoming less soft and more warning. She narrowed her eyes. "Kairi?" She blinked in surprise.

Kairi's eyes were wide. "Dean?"

The Dean seemed to realize that her composure was not Dean-like; she straightened up, flipping her hair off of her shoulder. When she spoke, her voice was hard again. "Kairi—I'm _sure_ you know the rules about romances on campus."

Kairi opened her mouth to mention that it wasn't a romance, but the Dean cut her off.

"That's right. _Strictly prohibited._" Her eyes were stern. "I believe you are aware of the consequences and punishment issued by breaking this rule, am I correct?"

Knowing that resistance would be futile, Kairi nodded. "Yes, Dean."

"Good. If you would _please_ make your way back to your dorm as to not be breaking any more of my rules, I will excuse you from punishment—_this time._" Her eyes were harsh. "Am I clear?"

Kairi blinked, remembering how much she disliked this woman. She sucked in a breath, giving a glance to Sora, then to the ground. "Crystal," She muttered, taking a step away from the boy.

"Run along, then. I would like to speak to Sora about _his_ punishment."

Kairi chewed on the inside of her cheek, desperately trying to hold back any snarky comments that might bubble to the surface. She took another step away, unable to look at Sora. She didn't want to see his expression, not now. She wasn't ready to see how sad he looked now that she didn't have the chance to make things better. She walked away quickly, the Dean's glare pushing her along faster; she made her way around the corner, slipping out of sight. Back from where Sora and the Dean were, there was silence, as if she was waiting for Kairi to be gone. Wanting to hear how bad his punishments would be thanks to her, Kairi hung back, silently slipping into the shadows of the corridor, listening carefully.

There was a few more taps of the Dean's heels—she walked around the corner to make sure Kairi was gone; she didn't see Kairi in the darkness—and then a few more as she made her way back to Sora. When she spoke, her voice was soft again, liquid and apologetic.

"I'm so sorry, Sora—I told them to let you go, that you didn't have to stay…"

Sora's voice was gruff; he ignored her apology. "Did you have to do that?" He muttered, voice deep from crying.

"Do what?"

"_That._ To Kairi." He paused. "It was rude."

The Dean sighed. "Sora, you know the rules. I can't allow romances—even for you."

"That wasn't romantic," He grumbled. "She was trying to make me feel better. I sort of had a rough day, if you hadn't already figured that out." There was an odd bitterness to his tone.

The Dean let out a breath; it was shaky. "I know—that's my fault. I'm sorry." There was a pause; she shifted and her heels clicked against the floor. "You shouldn't have had to go through that. Are you okay?"

Kairi's eyes narrowed as she listened, unable to fully believe what she was hearing. Apparently, the Dean liked Sora a hell of a lot more than she liked the other students at the Academy; she was actually talking to him with _concern_ in her voice. Odd.

"Not really," He responded, voice cracking as he spoke. "Sorta feel like dying."

There was a long pause, then; Kairi could hear shifting, and then a sniffle from the Dean. Then, another. When the Dean spoke, it became clear that she was crying.

"Please, Sora—_please_ don't say that. Don't do that to me." She sniffled. "I'm so sorry today was hard for you and I'm sorry that things weren't more properly planned out—but, please do not say those sort of things. I can't handle that."

Again, it sounded like they were shifting; when Sora spoke, his voice was muffled.

"Sorry," He murmured. "I didn't mean it."

The Dean sniffed once more. "_I'm_ sorry," She replied softly. "I know this wasn't exactly what you wanted and I know things are very hard for you, especially around this time—so, if you need anything or time off or something, please, ask me."

"Okay," Sora replied, voice still muffled.

There was more sniffing and more long pauses. After a while, the Dean spoke again, sounding a bit more collected than before.

"So," She huffed. "How have things been going? Haven't really had time to talk."

"Better," Sora replied. "A lot better."

"Really?" The Dean asked, sounding surprised. "Thought things were sort of stuck, for a while there."

"It's Kairi," He said. "She makes me feel okay."

"Kairi—the girl who I just sent away?"

There was silence, but Kairi assumed Sora had nodded. Her cheeks felt a little hot at the mention of her name, but she felt sort of honoured to be spoken about to the Dean, even though she didn't understand how these two knew each other and why they seemed to be so intimate.

"She's making things better?" There was another pause. "How?"

"I don't know. She just does."

"That's good." Another pause, a short one this time. "How are things going with the—" Her words cut off. She must have gestured or something.

Sora breathed in gently. "I don't."

"That's really good, Sora," The Dean seemed pleased; her voice was still soft. "Your appointment is day after tomorrow—plan on going this time?"

"No."

"_Please_, Sora."

"It's during class," He responded, sounding as if he were frowning.

The Dean barked out a laugh. "Since when are you a stickler for attending class?"

"I like drama," Sora replied, voice quieter.

"Missing one class won't be a big deal—please, just go to the appointment. It isn't easy for me to arrange these things and I really think you can benefit—"

Sora sniffed, cutting her off. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Alright," The Dean sighed. "Anyways, it's getting late—you'd better head back, get a good sleep. Try not to miss class tomorrow."

Sora made a noise in the back of his throat.

The Dean laughed lightly. "Yeah, yeah—okay. It never hurts to pretend you'll actually go, though, right?"

The sound of their steps loomed closer to the corner that Kairi was hiding around, and she knew it was time she left. She slipped down the corridor, the odd conversation she'd just heard pulsating in her ears. Why the hell did Sora seem to know the Dean so well, and what were they talking about? They'd seemed intimate—close, personal, like they had a bond—but it wasn't like the one in the rumors around campus. It wasn't that they were having an affair or secretly dating. It was almost motherly.

Kairi was thoroughly confused by the entire ordeal, and her mind raced as she made her way back to her dorm building. She was far too caught up in her twisted thoughts to sit around with her friends and chat about the time spent with their families, so she gave them a quick greeting and went up to her bedroom. Laying on her back in the dark, she tried to make sense of what she'd heard, but was unable to. It didn't make any sense. She didn't have any context behind it.

Then, there was the _tap tap_ against her window and she looked out, seeing her spiky-haired boy peering up at her; she opened her window and he crawled up and in, and she closed it and they laid together and she didn't ask about the whole thing with the Dean because it really wasn't her business. She'd been eavesdropping. She wasn't supposed to know. And if Sora had wanted her to, he would've told her.

So, they laid together and joked and laughed and it was almost as if every bit of sadness was gone from his eyes; it was like the boy she'd been with just a few hours ago was gone. He wasn't the boy sitting in the corner of the hall and he wasn't the boy crying in the dark corridor—he was just _Sora_, happy and bright and _there._ It bothered Kairi how quickly he'd swapped, how easily he'd hidden the things that had momentarily escaped him, but she didn't want to bring it up. She was scared that if she asked, his happy would go away.

He deserved to be happy more often, so she didn't ask. Instead, they just whispered to one another and told cheesy jokes and made one another smile, eventually falling asleep in a mess of long limbs and cold toes.

Kairi dreamt about her day at the beach with Sora, smiling through her peaceful sleep. Sora had a nightmare about his hometown, waking up in the middle of the night sweating and crying.

He'd snuggled up to Kairi, slamming his eyes shut and holding her close, hoping she would chase away the darkness in his heart.

**Author's Note: **_** Hi everyone! Thanks for reading! I'm aware how grossly long I have stretched this whole mystery thing out and I'm even beginning to get annoyed with it, I'm really sorry haha. I PROMISE you, everything will be discovered soon and it will make sense (hopefully) so don't lose faith in me yet. I'm sorry I've taken so long to write this chapter and the one before it, highschool has its downsides and I had a shit load of homework to do. Anyways, I just wanted to apologize for the shit writing and the horrible not-very-cliffhangery cliff hangers. Please please pleeeaseee review and give me some comments, those are the only things that are motivating me to write at this point and I'm struggling with the idea of continuing writing this so please help me out! Thanks a ton!**_


	14. Chapter 14

Kairi had been expecting things to fall back into a normal state, find that equilibrium that they always seemed to do after Sora was sad. She'd thought things would be like they usually were—Sora's sad would disappear and they would continue on, and whenever it returned they'd deal with it then. But this time, that balance in between didn't arrive. There was no pause. Things were continually skewed.

The next day, when she'd woken up, he'd been gone. She was alone in her bed, the space beside her horribly empty and cold, and she was surprised at how much it seemed to hurt her to find that he wasn't beside her. She got up, got dressed, tried to not let the terrible ache in her chest get to her, and went to class. Of course, she was only looking forward to drama class—it was the only one she liked.

When she got there, she was even more surprised to find that Sora wasn't there, either. He didn't show up late. He didn't come to apologize for not being there. It was just quiet and weird and she had to sit in one of the theatre chairs and watch the other awkward partners try and act out a skit, one she knew they would have been better at. But he wasn't there.

That night, there was no tap on her window. She didn't have to open it. She didn't have to let her favourite boy in. She didn't have anyone to cuddle with under the blankets.

Kairi tried to tell herself that it was probably just that Sora was being given a stern talking to for missing so much class. He was just in trouble, that's all. That's why he hadn't shown up to drama and that's why he didn't sleep over. She told it to herself repeatedly, over and over, trying to convince herself that it was the truth.

But she knew it wasn't.

The next morning was much like the one before. Cold bed, cold feet, cold fingers. Empty space in the bed. His smell had already stopped lingering on the pillow, and Kairi sat in the middle of the bed, white sheets sprawled around her, feeling a bit stung. She was sure he'd have a good reason to not be here. He had to, right? They were best friends. He wouldn't do this to her on purpose.

As she made her way downstairs to the kitchen, she was greeted happily by the girls; she forced a weak smile, hoping they wouldn't see her disappointment. Namine handed her a plate of toast—Namine usually made Kairi her breakfast—and she sat down, taking a bite of it.

Roxas sat beside her, a bit concerned. He gave her a funny look, one that seemed to question whether she was okay or not and whether everything was alright with Sora. Kairi gave him a slight shake of the head and his blue eyes fell; he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, giving her a pat.

When she went to class, she did so glumly. Kairi was aware of how pathetic this looked—as soon as Sora was gone, she slipped into this disgusting, clingy state—but it wasn't so much that his absence bothered her, but the fact that he hadn't told her. He'd come over and disappeared without a word. He hadn't explained why he wasn't there. He hadn't warned her. It hurt her a bit more than she would've liked; it felt like her heart was filled with lead.

The classes dragged by. When she finally made it to drama class, she was again met with the loud absence of the boy with the ocean eyes. Again, she sat in the seats and watched the other partnerships attempt to act out a scene from some play, each try painful and awkward to watch. Kairi tried to imagine what it would be like with Sora—not only would they act it out with ease, but they'd have a hell of a time making fun of the other groups. Kairi felt sad.

Then, she got really annoyed with being sad. She didn't _want_ to feel sad—slowly, she became mad. Every bit of sorrow in her body morphed into bits of fury, and soon enough she was fuming. How could he not tell her where he was? How could he spend the night and then leave without a note or a whisper as to why?

As soon as the clock tower chimed, she was bolting out the doors, making her way towards his dorm. She didn't have the patience for being sad anymore—she had to yell at him, get mad at him. _How could he?_

When she arrived at his dorm building, she was surprised to see a pack of security guards outside, blocking the doorway. Not wanting her anger to dissipate, she walked up to them; they stepped in front of her.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but there isn't any entry allowed—"

Her eyes flashed to the man speaking to her. "I need to see him." 

They seemed to understand who she was talking about. "The Dean's orders were—"

"_I need to see him_," Kairi spat, fury saturating every bit of her tone.

The guard's eyes grew wide. "But, the Dean…"

"You can punish me later. _Let me see him_."

The guard allowed her past, and she pushed through the door roughly; she made her way up the large, familiar staircase and went down the hall, pushing by another guard lingering outside of Sora's room.

"Hey, Miss—"

"_I don't care_," She growled, trying to hold on to all of her anger. Kairi pushed open Sora's bedroom door, stepping in and closing it behind her.

He was laying on his bed, arms folded behind his head; his blue eyes were peering out the top of the window at the grey clouds. He wore only a pair of colourful boxers, leaving his chest and stomach bare. Sora's expression, however, is what caught Kairi's attention most. He looked bad. _Very_ bad. All in one glance, she could see traces of anger, fury, misery, hollowness and destruction flickering over his face. When she entered, he sat up in surprise, the awful look in his eye now landing on her.

And all of her anger was gone.

"_Kairi?_" He frowned.

She blinked. "You didn't show up—so I came looking for you," She said, voice a bit weak. Inside, Kairi felt awful. She couldn't believe that she'd been angry at him for this, mad at him for not coming by or telling her where he was when he was _clearly_ being kept here against his will by the guards.

Sora's head drooped and he looked down. "I'm sorry."

"Are you okay?" She asked, stepping forwards and dumping her bag and jacket in a pile on the ground. She'd been here often enough to feel comfortable; this was her second home on campus.

Sora shrugged, giving her a sad little smile when she sat beside him on the bed.

"What's with the guards?"

He looked down shyly, smirking—but it was still a sad echo of what he was capable of. "They've got me trapped," He muttered. "So I don't run."

"Run?" Kairi blinked.

Sora seemed to hesitate, biting on the inside of his cheek; it was like he was choking on the words, like he wanted to say them and spit them out but they kept getting stuck in his throat. He grimaced. "It's…confusing."

It fell silent for a moment as Kairi battled against herself, fighting on whether to stay silent and accept his reluctance or whether to say something, ask for more. After a few longer seconds, the boldness in her won out, and she spoke up.

"I want to help you, Sora," Kairi muttered. "You know I do. I hate seeing you sad and I hate it whenever something is bothering you—and I try to help as much as I can, I honestly do—but it's so _hard_ when you do _this_, and—it would just be easier if you—it's not that I want to make you say things you don't want to say, I just—" She cut off. Her boldness had run out. "Never mind. You don't have to tell me. It's none of my business."

Sora kept his eyes on his feet. "I want to tell you," He mumbled. "I just don't think you'll like what you hear."

Kairi blinked, frowning slightly. _Didn't like what she'd hear?_ For the first time, a bit of fear rushed through her. What if he was right? What if he what he told her ruined things, changed the way she saw him? Maybe she shouldn't have asked—maybe it would've been best to just keep things the way they were—but she had to know. She couldn't stand seeing Sora so damn sad.

When she didn't respond, Sora looked over at her. His blue eyes were crystal clear, like magical pools in the mountains or a window into the heart of the sea. When he spoke, he was brutally honest; the cracks in his voice only re-established that. "I'm scared you'll leave me if you know."

"Sora, I—" Kairi cut off, shaking her head. "I'm never gonna leave you."

He leaned his head back, that sad smirk flickering across his lips. "You won't think that after I tell you."

"It won't matter," Kairi sputtered. "I'm not going to leave you—you're my best friend."

Again, Sora seemed to be fighting with himself; his jaw locked and unlocked several times, the muscles flexing in his lower cheek. Finally, he let out a little sigh and a grunt, looking more exhausted than she'd ever seen him.

"I killed my mother."

Kairi blinked, watching him carefully. He didn't look at her. Her voice was smooth, balanced—not nearly as shaky as she felt inside. "_You killed your mother_," She repeated.

"And my best friend," He added in, almost as if he'd forgotten it the first time.

"_And your best friend._"

Sora blinked, eyes trained on the ground. He nodded, saying nothing.

Huh. She could see why he'd think she'd want to leave. Keeping her voice strong, she spoke up again. "Might want to explain a little, Sora."

"Hm? Oh. Right," He sucked in a breath. "I mean—I didn't kill them. _Well_, I did. I caused their deaths to occur."

Kairi still felt a bit hesitant.

Sora continued. "There was this party," He muttered, sounding a bit disgusted with himself, now. "I wanted to go because the girl I liked was gonna be there, and I wanted to make a move, finally ask her out." He blinked again. "My mom said I wasn't allowed—I was grounded for not doing the dishes, or something like that. I convinced my best friend, Riku, to sneak out with me anyways."

Kairi listened carefully, mentally noting the anger in his voice.

"We went to the party, it got pretty wild. I lost Riku, spent the entire night looking for him. My mom showed up because she was worried, she'd heard that the party was getting out of hand—she picked us up, was gonna take us home before the cops broke it up." His voice was harder, now. Cold. "We went with her, no complaints. We weren't having much fun anyways."

His breath got a bit shakier.

"Then she was yelling at us, screaming at us for going and Riku took the blame, saying it was his idea even though it was mine—he hadn't even wanted to go." Sora struggled with his words, each one having more space between it. "Then we turned the corner and it got all bright, and—mom screamed my name—and it hurt—" His words choked off. He wasn't crying, but his words were filled with horror, with pain. "Got hit by a drunk driver, one of the kids at the party."

He still didn't look at Kairi.

"I woke up a month and a half later, in the hospital," He blinked a lot. "They told me what happened. They told me that mom and Riku were gone." Now, his voice cracked. "If I hadn't gone to that _fucking_ party—" He spat, the self-loathing in his voice harsh and painful.

Kairi's hands were on his back, rubbing small circles. "_Sora,_" She whispered softly.

He looked at her, blue eyes red and dark and horrified. "I missed the funerals," He whispered shakily. "I didn't get to say goodbye."

She rubbed the circles on his back a bit harder.

He took a moment to collect himself, calm himself down a bit. He still looked terrible, but his voice was even. "So, then I was alone," He mumbled at the ground. "No mom."

"What about your dad?"

Sora shrugged. "He left when I was four. My mom's best friend became my legal guardian, and she had to take care of me. That's when I came here." He paused, realizing there was a gap in his story. "The Dean—that's my mom's friend. They went to highschool together."

Kairi blinked, piecing things together. "The Dean," She murmured. "Oh."

"So, I don't actually belong here," He said lowly, "She brought me here because I had nowhere else to go." There was a pause. "Anyways—she's set up this monthly meeting with the best guidance council on the islands, probably cost her a fortune to get him up here—and I never go, so that's why the guards are here. So I don't run away again. She's really worried." Sora looked a bit down, a bit bad for disappointing the woman who was trying to take care of him.

Kairi blinked, making sense of it. "Why do you run away?" She asked. "Why don't you go?"

He smirked again. It was still not right, still lacking that _Sora_ quality. "Believe it or not, it's not fun retelling the story of killing your mom and best friend," He mumbled. "I don't particularly want to relive it. Every time, it's like—" He cut off, swallowing. "Like it's happening all over again."

Kairi's heart ached at the sadness etched onto her boys' face. "Sora," She murmured softly, her free hand reaching out and holding his, intertwining their fingers. She squeezed his hand tightly. "That's not your fault."

His blue eyes looked to hers, hard and cold. "You don't have to do that," He said. "You don't have to try and make me feel better or try to tell me it wasn't my fault. It's been a year since the accident—I've figured it all out already. It _was_ my fault."

"No, it wasn't."

He didn't look sad, not even a bit. "Don't try to make me feel better," He said, voice almost a growl. "I'm not sad anymore." He paused. "I mean, there are times when it just hits me, but for the most part, I'm not sad anymore. I just—it sucks. Knowing it's all your fault and not being able to say sorry."

Kairi shook her head, eyes getting wet, welling up to the brim with tears. "No, Sora, that's not your fault," She whispered. "I know it must feel awful being the only one who made it out, but that's not your fault. You didn't make that drunk driver crash into you."

"Maybe if I wasn't such a shitty kid and _listened_—"

Tears began to stream down her cheeks, now. "Please, _please_ don't put that on yourself," She begged. "It's not your fault, you didn't know…"

He ignored her, the fury and hatred in his voice thick. "—she wouldn't have had to get us, she wouldn't have had to drive at all and we wouldn't have been hit, she wouldn't have died, Riku wouldn't have died and the drunk driver wouldn't have died and we'd be fine, and—"

Watching Sora's blue eyes—the ones that matter her feel so welcome, so at peace—scour the ground as he spat out the cruel words, hating himself more and more by the second, Kairi could feel her heart shatter in her chest. She didn't want him to blame himself. She didn't want him to hate himself. But he did, and that terrified her.

"_Sora!_" Kairi cried, tears pouring from her eyes and her body wracked with sobs. She put a hand on his cheek, turning him to look at her; she shook her head, then pressed her forehead to his cheek. "Please—don't blame yourself."

His voice was deep, cracked and lost. "Who else am I supposed to blame?"

She sniffed, closing her eyes as she leaned her forehead against him. "No one, Sora. You don't blame anyone."

When he spoke, he sounded wrecked. "I miss them," He whispered, words muffled slightly by Kairi's face as he turned, lips pressing against her forehead. His hand landed on her waist and he leaned into her.

"I know," Kairi whispered back, sniffling.

"The worst part," Sora said, his eyelashes tickling against Kairi's skin as he blinked, "Is the nightmares. Most days, I'm okay—but then at night it's like I can't run away. It's always dark. And I always hear her scream."

Kairi wrapped her arms around Sora's waist, hugging him tightly. "You have nightmares?"

"Every night."

That bothered her. "Why didn't you tell me? I'd stay up with you…"

"It's better with you around," He murmured into her hair. "They've just been bad lately. That's why I left that one morning—dreamt about the accident. Had to walk. Then, the guards found me, and they trapped me in here."

"Why are they bad?"

Sora chewed on his lip a bit. "I don't know—I think it's because of the counsellor meeting." He paused. "And visiting day."

Kairi blinked. "What's wrong with visiting day?"

His gaze fell slightly. "No one ever shows up to see me."

Then, Kairi's heart came crashing down inside of her; she felt awful, horrible. It explained everything—why he'd looked so terrible on the morning of Visiting Day, why she'd seen him alone in the hall after everyone had left, why he'd cried on her in the dark corridor. An awful feeling spread through her limbs and she felt herself sink, slamming her eyes shut and letting out a terrible groan. "Oh my god," She whispered. "I knew I shouldn't have left, I should have stayed that day—"

Sora's leaned back, taking her hand and tracing little circled patterns along it absentmindedly. "It's alright. I'm glad you got to see your dad."

Feeling like she might cry again, Kairi began to sniffle. "You should've told me," She whispered. "You could have come with me. Met my dad, had lunch with us. He'll really love you—he'll think you're funny."

Sora made a face. "Don't cry," He begged. "I'm not good with girls crying."

She couldn't help but see that same, sad scene from a couple days before: the great big empty hall, the small figure in the back corner, shoulders shaking, all alone. It broke her heart.

"Please, don't blame everything on yourself," Kairi sniffed, looking up at the boy before her. "You didn't do that to them. Sora, you're too good to spend your life hating yourself, and…" She trailed off, shrugging.

Unable to properly respond, Sora simply lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her fingers, planting small kisses across her hand. It was his way of thanking her, letting her know that he was glad he'd told her.

Kairi swallowed. "I think you should see the counsellor," She nodded, meeting his gaze. "I think it would help. Maybe, it'll help take the nightmares away. Get rid of the guilt."

Sora blinked, voice quiet and raspy when he spoke. "I'm scared."

"It'll be okay," She promised. "Don't be scared."

"I don't want to talk about my mom or the accident—especially to a stranger," He said, a slight frown making its way onto his brow. "It's not—it's not easy. It hurts." 

Kairi petted his hair, trying to soothe him. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'll always be here, if you want to talk."

"Promise?"

She pressed a small kiss to his cheek. "Promise."

There was a long moment, the sweet silence blanketing over them, before Sora spoke again. "If I go—would you come?" He blinked at her. "To the meeting, to the counsellor?"

"You want me to come?"

Sora nodded. "You make it easier."

"If you want me to, I'll be there," Kairi nodded. "Always."

Sora looked tired—not his usual bleakness, but genuinely exhausted from all of this confession—and he wrapped his arms around the girl, sighing heavily into her neck. He felt lighter than he had for a while, like she'd taken the weights off of his shoulders and started to carry them for him. Relief flushed through him—relief that she knew, that she didn't hate him for what he'd done, that she wasn't going to leave—and he held her tighter, making sure that she was real and that she was here and that she wasn't just some figment of his imagination. But, she was real and she'd made a promise and she wasn't going to leave.

Sora imagined what his mother would think of Kairi, if she were still around to meet her. He thought they'd get along well—his mother would like Kairi's hair and she'd like how Kairi laughed and she'd like how Kairi smiled a lot. He could imagine Kairi coming over to his childhood home and helping cook dinner with them and sitting on the deck watching the stars like they'd always done. He was sure that Riku would've liked her, as well—maybe a bit too much, which would have made Sora a bit jealous. But Kairi seemed to be perfect and he knew that if his mother and Riku were around, they'd love her just as much as he did.

"I have one condition, though," Kairi said, muffled by Sora's body.

Sora pulled back, eyes big. He was a little scared—what would her condition be? What if he couldn't promise her what she wanted?

"What is it?"

Her eyes were serious, stern. "You have to take me to the winter formal—and you have to wear a suit."

Sora laughed. Grinning, he pressed his nose against her cheek, pulling her onto the bed and laying out beside her; his hands grabbed her waist, lifting her so that she lay on top of him. "I can't promise you that."

"_Sora._ I'm serious. It's a deal breaker."

"Okay," He smiled. "The winter formal."

"_And?_"

"And I'll wear a suit."

Kairi smiled, cocking her head to the side as she looked down at him. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

He tried to hide a smirk. "Not overly difficult, no."

"Well," She laughed, sucking in a deep breath. "If you're going to cooperate so easily, I might as well throw in a few more demands. Firstly, I would like—"

Before she could read out her new demands, Sora leaned up and pressed his lips against hers; she froze and then melted into him, his hands holding her cheeks, holding her frame up. When they pulled away, Kairi's auburn hair fell and Sora tucked it behind her ear.

His lips spread into a charming grin. "I'd apologize, but I'm not sorry."

"Well," She huffed out, cheeks turning a bright red. "That just about throws all my demands out the window."

"Good."

Kairi smiled. "Good."

And mentally, Sora seemed to agree with that word. _Good._ Things were going to be good, now.

_**Author's note: **__**Well, that was an awful chapter and a terrible lead up to a really bad mystery and tragedy! yaaaaaaaaaaay for terrible plot planning! Sorry, for anyone disappointed—I'm even more disappointed. boo at me. but this was the plot I'd started with when I set out writing this story, and it didn't feel right to morph it—it would just throw the entire thing off. sorry again! and for those wondering, NO, this is not the end. promise, I'll give you warning when that fateful day arrives. thanks for the lovely (far too gracious) comments! **_


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's note: **_**I'm so sorry that this took so long to get out—I had piles of schoolwork to do and I just couldn't get distracted by writing. I'm aware how short this chapter is (really, it's just a little catch up) but I think it holds a few important details. I'm also aware that you've all waited so long and I return with such a wimpy chapter, but I'm writing the next chapter which will be a lot longer and I'm intending to give you guys one or two (maybe three!) chapters really soon, so bear with me **____** thanks so much for reading and a special shoutout to those who give me reviews! those are the only things that really motivate me now so if you like the story, PLEASE review so I know people are actually liking what I am doing. thanks so much**_

As the days past, it had become incredibly clear that Sora's demons had scarred him deeper than Kairi first thought. It wasn't only the occasional bouts of sadness or the twinkle of darkness if a touchy subject came up—there were things she hadn't been aware of before tripping into clarity. Where she'd thought his heart and soul had been scratched up by the monsters in his head, it became apparent that wasn't the case. These weren't scars—these were grooves, dug deep, wrecking him from the inside out.

Now that she'd uncovered his past and made sense of him, he was pretty cheerful. He'd said it felt like she'd taken the weight of the world off of his shoulders; he rarely was enveloped by the sadness, the memories. With Kairi around, knowing what had happened to him and still sticking by his side, he seemed a lot happier.

But his attitude wasn't what had caught her attention, made her realize things were harder for him than she'd first believed. She could see past the happiness and the relief, see the fear and the uncertainty that lingered within him. She could see how much he hated himself, how badly the guilt dwelling inside his chest had chewed him up ever since he'd awoken from the accident.

When she'd first caught a glimpse of the scars on his wrists, her body had gone numb from shock. The scars were pale, now—old and aged. If it weren't for the unnatural pattern, the perfectly straight, rigid lines carved down his wrist, she would've thought they were just scratches—ones he could've picked up anywhere. But the lines were there, pink and pale, and her heart shattered. She felt like throwing up and screaming at him and sobbing, and it took everything she had to not fall apart on the spot. But he was beside her, grinning down at her like she was the brightest thing he'd ever seen, and his eyes were the happiest she'd seen them. Kairi couldn't understand how someone so beautiful could hate themselves so much.

She'd started accompanying Sora to his meetings with the counsellor a couple times a week. At first, the process had started out painful and slow. Sora had been as rigid as possible, his hand permanently gripping Kairi's tightly. He'd looked scared, terrified and angry. He'd refused to speak, refused to tell this stranger anything. They'd gone back to Sora's dorm in silence that first night, having made no progress and only reminding Sora of the dark things he believed he'd caused.

As the meetings progressed, things got a bit better. Rather than press Sora to speak about the accident, the counsellor—his name was Eraqus—asked about casual things, like school and drama class. Sora began to open up to him, and bit by bit began to trust the man. And, after many more meetings, Sora began to talk about the accident. It wasn't like he said it upright and spoke directly about it, but he'd just say little offhand things related to it, things that delved a bit further into the parts he kept closed off.

Sora's recent obsession with kissing Kairi had grown steadily as the days passed; it seemed he couldn't go a few minutes without tasting her, feeling her lips. And when he wasn't kissing her, he was thinking about it; his eyes would drift down from her eyes as she spoke and stare at her lips, blinking at their softness. Not only did he seem to like her lips, but he had taken a particular liking to her waist; Sora's hands were constantly drifting to it, resting on it, pulling on it to bring her closer.

Sometimes he would show up in the middle of the night—even if it was one of the nights when they didn't make plans, when Kairi needed to stay home so she wouldn't make the roommates suspicious—and he would throw up pebbles to her window. Kairi would open up and laugh, because they were both on the same page: if he missed her, she missed him just as much. So he would climb up and kiss her, and they'd cuddle in her bed and kiss all night until they both fell asleep. Most of the time he would be there when she awoke, but he'd slip away if her roommates started calling her or trying to talk to her before they would notice he'd even arrived.

Whenever Sora wasn't around, Kairi found herself daydreaming about him, which ultimately lead to her heart rate speeding and her cheeks getting red. It would happen in the most untimely situations, too; she'd be mid-conversation with Namine and Olette, or she'd be in the middle of class. She also found herself thinking far too much about kissing him, which resulted in her stomach feeling all fluttery and warm and she would have to stifle a giggle of happiness.

Safe to say, they were both equally infatuated with one another.


	16. Chapter 16

They walked in silence through the dark campus, the only source of light being the round moon high above them, dimly illuminating the frozen ground they walked upon. The air was cold, colder than it had been so far in the harsh winter the islands were receiving; their breath huffed out of them in white puffs. Their hands were silently intertwined, quietly lying them together.

They'd snuck out of drama class, skipping the reenactment of some boring piece of a play; they'd crept off campus and stayed at their lighthouse for the remainder of the evening. It had gotten particularly difficult to go to their little hideout, nowadays; ever since Sora had begun his meetings with Eraqus and the Dean had been aware of the two teens' questionable friendship, they'd been watched pretty closely to prevent any inappropriate occurrences.

They walked along the frosty path back towards Kairi's dorm building, their familiar, warm silence flooding over them. Both seemed acutely aware that sneaking out wouldn't be as easy, that this was simply a fluke; they seemed to be taking advantage of it, appreciating it in the moment.

When they were on the path in front of Kairi's building, they pulled to a stop; Kairi turned, facing the spiky-haired boy.

She sighed. "They're starting to get suspicious," She murmured hesitantly, not particularly interested in going inside. "Roxas is having a hard time covering for us."

Sora nodded; he wasn't stupid. He knew this would happen eventually. Her roommates would question her leaving every night at some point. "I know."

Kairi blinked, eyes flickering from Sora's eyes to their hands. She fumbled around with his fingers, playing with them. "They're asking more about it," She muttered. "I tell them I go to the library—they keep offering to join me. They know something is up."

Sora watched her carefully, his eyes flickering down to her lips, his expression thoughtful. "What should we do?"

"Roxas says we should lie low for a bit," Kairi huffed out a white cloud of breath. "You know—cool it down for a while."

He tilted his head, nodding. "He's probably right."

Kairi made a face, hitting Sora lightly in the shoulder.

"Ow," He complained, rubbing where she'd hit him. "Was that necessary?"

She blinked at him. "You think being apart will make this better?"

Sora smirked at the ferocity in her gaze. "It'll make your friends lay off a bit," He said, "So, yeah. It'll really suck, but if it makes it easier for you, then, yeah. I'd do it."

Kairi hit him again.

"Ow—_why?_" He hissed, rubbing his shoulder and laughing a little at the girl before him.

"If you think me being away from you is going to stop them from being suspicious, you've severely underestimated how much you matter to me," She spat, expression strong and voice defiant. "If we're separate, I'll just think about you more, and they—_it just wouldn't help, okay?_"

Sora's blue eyes were honest, but hard. He wasn't exactly cold, per say, but the realization of the situation had truly dawned on him: he wasn't ever going to be accepted by Kairi's friends. If he wanted to see her, it would have to be in secret, no matter what. Even if by the slightest chance her friends took it easy on them, they really did need to restrain themselves a bit more; if it became campus-wide that the new girl was sort of together with the campus weirdo, it wouldn't take long for the school administration to shut down their little _thing._ He knew they needed to be more secretive, to spend some time apart. Otherwise, they'd be forced away.

"Kairi," Sora murmured gently, trying not to sound too harsh, "Maybe it'd be best if—"

Her eyes flickered, as if somebody had turned off a switch; she was cold, ice cold. There was no emotion in her face. "_Don't._"

His eyebrows pulled down. "What?"

Now, a fierce determination burned in her gaze. "Don't say it."

Sora sighed, hands reaching out and touching her hips, fiddling with them as he gently pulled her closer. She restrained, keeping her distance. "We can't keep doing this," He sputtered, every fibre of his being wanting to say the opposite but knowing it was best. "If everyone finds out—"

"I don't care what my friends think," Kairi hissed, a tinge of desperation clear in her voice.

He felt like he was choking on the words. He didn't want them to come out, for the elephant in the room to be faced. "It's not your friends that are the problem," He pressed. "If the Dean hears that there is dating on campus—"

"She's your _guardian_, can't she allow some rules to slip by?"

Sora's head dropped; he looked at he frozen ground below them. "She's not that type of person," He murmured. "She likes rules, everything in order. She wouldn't even think about it—she's already suspicious because of you coming to therapy with me."

"I don't care," Kairi snapped, tone saturated with frustration.

He tried to reach for her again. Eyes filled with a terrible determination, she stepped away from him yet again. Sora's fighting spirit had been sapped; his shoulders fell slightly, an awful sadness washing over him. This wasn't his darkness, the cloud that occasionally drifted over his sky-blue eyes; this was different, but just as heavy. It was bittersweet, really—they needed to stay away from one another to make it easier on them. He seemed to struggle with it, but he already knew which would win out. They needed to be away from each other—_they had to._

When he spoke, his voice was quiet. "Kairi."

Kairi met his sad eyes, her own doused in fury and flames. Once she met his gaze, it slowly melted out of her, the realism of the situation slamming into her like a train. For a split second there was a flash of understanding, then absolutely blank. And then, she burst into tears.

Her face crumpled in pain, tears streaming down her cheeks. The air felt a bit colder, the entire place a lot quieter as she began to cry; her shoulders shook as she sobbed silently. After a moment, her sniffles became audible. Then, quiet cries.

Watching her cry, he felt like breaking.

Sora grimaced, heart feeling like it shattered in his chest. His eyes flickered down to her, gaze meeting Kairi's desperate eyes. He shook his head slightly, eyes soft. "We'll stay together, if you want," He murmured, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and hugging her. "Okay?"

Kairi pressed her forehead into his chest, hands gripping his waist. She nuzzled into him, hiding her face. "Don't say that to me," She whimpered, the idea of being away from Sora making her chest feel heavy. "Don't say anything about us being apart, okay? It's too scary."

He put his chin on the top of her head, tightening his hold around her. As he spoke, he looked around at the cold, dark night that had folded around them. "I'm sorry," He whispered, kissing her hair. "We won't be apart. Sorry."

Kairi breathed in his scent, closing her eyes. "Just…don't talk about leaving me, okay? You'll give me a heart attack."

His voice was muffled by her hair. "Sorry," he murmured. "We'll stay together. Promise."

That seemed to ease her slightly; she cuddled closer to him, his hard chest fitting perfectly against her cheek. "Okay," She whispered against his chest, voice soft and tired. "Promise."

They stood like that for a long few moments, the quiet cold wrapped around them snugly; Sora's arms were warm around Kairi, hugging her tightly. As they stood, Sora peered around, his ocean eyes flashing around the dark path around them.

After a few seconds, Sora's voice broke the quiet, brighter this time. "_Kairi._"

She frowned, afraid he would bring up another painful topic. "Shh."

"No—_seriously,_" He pressed, nudging her slightly. "You're gonna want to see this."

Kairi pulled her head away from his chest, the cold instantly wrapping between them, separating them. As she looked around, she immediately understood why Sora had broken their quiet moment—she wouldn't have wanted to miss this. She let out a gasp. "Oh my god," She whispered, voice full of awe.

The sky, the air—_everything_—was white, saturated with the cold, fat flakes that fell around them. As the two teens peered up, their surroundings matched that of a snowglobe; the snowfall picked up, swirling about as the wind whooshed through the campus, whiting out the sky and making it nearly impossible to see. It wasn't a light snowfall, either—it was coming down quick, the flakes wide and fat. Another gust of wind whipped by and the snow circled Sora and Kairi, twirling around them like a tornado of cold. It fell harder and harder by the second; the once clear path they stood on was loading up with the white stuff, nearly up to their ankles already.

Kairi began to shiver, but ignored the sensation. She was far too amazed and enamoured with the beauty of the snow to care. "Wow."

Sora's blue eyes were lit up by the bright underlight of the snow; he was mesmerized by it, mouth slack and hands tightly wound around Kairi's waist. "It's beautiful," He murmured quietly. "I've never seen it before."

"Me either—just heard stories from the grandparents back home."

Sora nodded. "Yeah."

They stood like that for a while, watching the snow twirl around them, piling at their feet until it was halfway up their calves. Although they would be absolutely content to simply stand there and watch it for hours, they figured they'd better do something, so as to not waste the moment. They started to play, making snowballs and kicking piles of the stuff at each other. Within moments, they were both soaked, clothing dripping with ice water; they romped around, ignoring the cold, unable to properly see where they were. The snow was pillowy, soft; they rolled around, made snow angels, tried to make forts in it but couldn't because it wasn't nearly sticky enough.

Kairi couldn't make a proper snowball, so ended up scooping up a pile of snow and chucking it at Sora; he let out a loud laugh and tossed a snowball at her, hitting her in the neck. She let out a loud squeal, trying to run away, but was swept up in the white-out conditions. She waddled around a bit, the screaming of the cold wind in her ear; she couldn't see due to the snow blowing in her eyes. She stuck out her arms instinctively, although she wasn't particularly sure what she was reaching for—she didn't know where she was. Letting out a bit of a laugh, she called out, "Sora?"

His voice was close. "Don't move—I'm coming."

Kairi stayed put, slamming her eyes shut to stop the snow from blowing in her eyes. Within a second or two, Sora's warm arms were around her waist, his lips on her cold neck. When he spoke, his voice was low and comforting compared to the cold air around them.

"Shouldn't have run away, huh?"

Kairi laughed, turning to face him. "Shouldn't have hit me with a snowball, then."

"I believe you took first shot."

The cold whipped around them, but Kairi didn't find it so bad when she was sharing Sora's body heat. "True. But your snowball went down my jacket."

"Sorry," He grinned. "I'll make it up to you."

Kairi sniffled, nose a bit cold. "You better," She teased. Before Sora could respond, she lifted her hand and released the snow in her palm on his head; she let out a loud giggle and tried to run away, fearing retaliation from the now snow-covered boy.

Sora let out a loud, "_Hey!_" and chased after her, wrapping his arms around her waist and spinning her to face him. Kairi was still overcome with uncontrollable laughter, and that seemed to please Sora, even if he was wet and the snow and gone down his pants a bit and touched places that should _never_ be exposed to something so cold.

Sora's voice was husky; he pressed his forehead against Kairi's. "Payback time."

Before she could respond or toss more snow down his trousers, he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her roughly; their lips were both cold but warm in a sense, and his big hands were touching her hips and her fingers got all tangled up in his hair, and Kairi couldn't help smile into the kiss.

And then, there was a very abrupt interruption, one that neither Sora nor Kairi were expecting.

"_Kairi?_" A voice called out, shock obvious, a few feet away.

Kairi and Sora pulled away, heads snapping towards the voice. Kairi's eyes landed on a small cluster of people, all dressed up in their big jackets and mittens, staring at them wildly. In the front of the crowd was Namine, with Roxas beside her.

Immediately, Sora and Kairi pulled away from one another, putting some distance between them.

Kairi stammered. "I—um. _Guys._ Hey."

Xion spoke, her soft voice barely audible over the loud wind. "We thought you were at the library."

Kairi's eyes widened, and she met Roxas' gaze; he looked surprised, panic clear on his expression. She swallowed. "I—uh…"

Namine's mouth was open. "You—_you're—_what's going on?" She demanded, voice confused and shocked and angry. "You're with _him?_"

"We're," Kairi looked over at Sora; there was a distant, drawn expression on his face. She blinked, stuttering as she looked back at Namine. "Yeah. I'm with him."

Sora seemed surprised; his blue eyes shot open wide and he looked over to Kairi, frowning a little and shaking his head. '_You don't have to do that,_' he seemed to be saying, knowing that having her roommates know would only cause trouble. '_You don't have to tell them.'_

Kairi ignored his expression, keeping her stance strong.

"_With_ him?" Namine echoed, expression becoming a bit hurt. "So—you've been lying to us? You're not actually at the library?"

Kairi flinched, making a face. Seemed like it was time to come clean completely. "Yes," She nodded. "I was with Sora. Every time."

Olette chimed in. "So…" She blinked, thinking it through. "You lied?"

Her chest felt tight. "Yes." She took in an icy breath; it hurt her lungs. "But I didn't mean to, I just thought—"

"Thought what?" Namine snapped. "Thought we'd tattle on you and your boyfriend?" Two beats of silence. "Well, you're not wrong."

Kairi's words bubbled from her chest. "_Namine._"

Namine looked truly insulted, stung by Kairi's lies; her expression was cold and hard. "Dating isn't allowed on campus," She spat. "Looks like you and your little _criminal_ will just—"

"Namine!" Roxas snapped, turning to glare at the girl beside him. "God, could you just let them be happy and stay out of it?"

Namine's initial surprise turned to an even harder glare back at him. "What, you _approve?_"

"Of course I do," Roxas shot back. "If their happy."

"It's against the rules!"

Roxas shook his head. "That rule is shit, and you know it," He muttered, disgusted. "And we all know the only reason you're mad about this is because you've got some sick sort of social class disparity issues, and you're taking it out on these two."

Pain flickered across Namine's eyes. "I am not!" She shouted back, fury ripping through her voice. "It's well known that he's clearly _troubled_—"

"_Shut up!_" Roxas yelled, cutting her off, angry. There seemed to be a bit of hesitation in his voice, one that Kairi understood perfectly. It wasn't a secret that Roxas liked Namine—he always had—and it probably wasn't easy to do what he was doing. "You don't know him."

"And you do?"

"I know him a hell of a lot more than you do," Roxas spat, sounding a bit tired. "I know he makes Kairi happy. That's all I need."

Namine's voice was hard. "He's a bad influence," She sniffed, lifting her chin slightly. "They dropped a notice the other day, you know. Kairi's been missing class—more than a dozen in the past two weeks. You think she did that on her own? _No_. It was him."

Roxas' voice was deep, hoarse. "Enough, Namine."

"He's dragging her grades down—"

"_Enough, Namine!_" Roxas snapped, tone more harsh than Kairi had ever heard before.

Namine's eyes widened; obviously, she'd never heard Roxas use that tone of voice either, especially not with her. Her mouth fell open, then snapped shut, eyes wide and a bit more wet than usual. Pain and hurt flickered across her face. She turned and her eyes met Kairi's, and the look in them said everything.

It was all over. Namine would tell the Dean about Sora and Kairi, and it would all be over. They'd be shut down. No more sneaking out, no more smiling, no more helping him with therapy, no more kisses, no more lighthouse.

Namine turned on her heel, turning back towards the dorm; she gave Roxas a dark glance afterwards, almost as an afterthought, like she'd forgotten he was there. Her voice was ice.

"We're done."

With that, she walked back to the dorm, the rest of the girls following behind her; the door slammed shut once they'd all stepped inside, leaving Kairi, Sora and Roxas out in the dark.

It was silent for a moment, and then Kairi stepped forward to Roxas' side; her hands gripped his arm, her eyes wet and horrified. "I'm so sorry," She muttered, tears streaming from her eyes. "You didn't have to do that—you didn't have to stick up for us, now she's mad at you, Roxas—"

He looked exhausted; he placed a hand on her shoulder, his blue eyes empty and sad. "It's okay."

Kairi fell silent, looking into her friend's eyes. He'd just stood up for her, protected her and Sora, lost his best friends to do so. From the miserable look in his eyes, Kairi realized something, something awful. Roxas didn't just like Namine—he was in love with her. And now, she was gone.

Sora stepped up, his hand touching Kairi's hip. They all shared glances, all realizing what had just happened: they'd all lost something important in one simple conversation. Roxas lost Namine, lost his friends, and Sora and Kairi lost each other. There was no choice in the matter. The girls would tell the administrators, and they would be forced apart. It was just a matter of time. They were a ticking time bomb, about to implode at any moment.

Roxas looked at the snow. "We were gonna make a snowman. That's why we came out. I didn't know you guys were out here—sorry."

Kairi met his eyes. "I'm sorry," She whispered. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I think I'm going to go home. Get some sleep."

Kairi nodded. "Thanks for helping," She said, although it was sad. His act had been sweet, kind—but now they were all missing something.

Roxas gave her a weak smile, then turned back; his eyes landed on the girls' dorm and he took a step forward, then realized it was wrong. He wasn't going there anymore. He couldn't stay there. It wasn't his home anymore. He paused, a grimace flickering across his lips, and then shifted to the right, walking along the nonexistent path towards his official dorm building.

Kairi realized that it was the first time that year Roxas wouldn't be spending the night in the girls' dorm, with his friends and with Namine. The loneliness seemed to be radiating off of his person, obvious as he walked alone through the soft snow, slipping from sight.

Then, Kairi and Sora looked at each other, both fully aware of what was going to happen. Namine was probably calling the main office now, speaking to the Dean; it would only be a matter of time before they would get punished, be split apart. So, they quietly made their way back to Sora's dorm room, holding hands, and waited for it to come. They were silent, spending their final moments together as peacefully as possible. They held each other in the darkness, cuddled tightly into his sheets.

And then, there was a knock on the door. When Sora answered it, security guards stepped in, and Kairi realized that their time was up. The guards took them to the main hall, and they sat outside of the Dean's office in the big, mahogany corridor. Then, more guards came to meet them; Sora was taken to one office, and Kairi to another.

Before she was pulled into her office, Kairi peered back, eyes locking with Sora's, saying goodbye.

And then, the door was shut and he was gone, slipped from her view, and she'd never felt more alone in her life.


	17. Chapter 17

Kairi lowered herself into one of the theatre seats, slumping her body against it. She felt more drained in that moment than she had her entire life; her shoulders felt heavy, like she were carrying weights, and her feet ached. It wasn't so much a physical problem, but a mental one: emotionally, she felt a bit wrecked.

Her meeting with the Dean the previous night hadn't been a pleasant one. Kairi had received a harsh yelling at, one that seemed to be a mixture of pissed off headmaster as well as protective mother figure; the Dean sternly explained the punishment for dating on campus—which was strictly prohibited—and then screamed at Kairi for distracting Sora, _her god child_, from his studies and from his therapy sessions. Kairi had tried to explain that she wasn't a distraction, that she was helping, but to no avail; the Dean didn't seem interested in hearing the young girl speak. The Dean explained the regular punishment for this sort of thing—immediate expulsion for both students—but since this was a special case, granted Sora and Kairi an exception. They were both to stay in school, but couldn't interact anymore. No classes together. No after class interaction. No sneaking out (the Dean mentioned that Sora was under permanent watch by security, now) to see one another. Nothing. No interaction. They were to be strangers from now on. Kairi, of course, had fought it, but the Dean had shut her down. She could no longer see Sora. She was slowing down his individual progress. And that was it. The Dean had left her in the arms of another security guard, who towed her back to her dorm, and left her there.

When she'd awoke, she was brutally reminded that every single one of her dormmates hated her. When she went to get breakfast, a hush fell over the crowded little kitchen. As soon as she left, she could hear the girls whispering about her. At lunch, she hadn't even gone near where her roommates would've sat; she tucked herself into one of the wide, hall-like washrooms and ate her sandwich in silence. Being this lonely made her heart sort of hurt; she wanted to hide her face, cry into someone's shoulder—but she had no one. She wished she had a friend to talk to, but she didn't. The girls hated her and Sora was gone.

She'd gone through her classes silently. She didn't raise her hand and answer questions, if even she knew them. She didn't care. The ache in her chest was enough to stifle her words, to choke them out and leave a pang of hurt in her instead. She wanted to sleep, but she didn't want to go to her dorm. There was a feeling of dread everywhere she went, knowing that one of the girls was most likely yapping about how she'd betrayed them.

So, there she was, in her last block. Drama. When she'd started at the Academy, it had been the one class she'd dreaded, the one she wanted to switch out of. Now, it was the one thing keeping her sane. As she settled into her seat, she peered around the dark stage. Then, she crumpled a bit, realizing that Sora wouldn't be there. No doubt he'd been switched out into a different course as of last night. As Mr. Hale began the class, Kairi slinked even further down into her thoughts. Much to her discontent, today Mr. Hale decided to start some real scene acting.

He'd gone around, pairing partners up—until his eyes landed on Kairi. Apparently, she'd looked awful or miserable or a mix of the two, because he'd looked at her for a long second, peered around to see that Sora was nowhere in sight, then sputtered, "Kairi—you can take the day off. Looks like you need it. Just sit back and watch," before he danced off again.

Then, the lights were dimmed even further and a spotlight beamed onto the middle of the stage, and Mr. Hale called up a partnership and gave them the script to a scene for them to read off. It was a comedic scene, full of funny little shots that the kids played out awkwardly and stiffly, ruining it entirely. Kairi could see the annoyance in Mr. Hale's face—clearly, it wasn't easy for him to see such lovely work being butchered.

After a few minutes of that torture, he sent them back to their seats and called up another partnership, hopeful that they could deliver more. He gave them a different script; this one was of two strangers stuck in a dangerous situation. Again, it was terrible. Where they should have been loud and yelling, they were quiet and timid; when they should have been panting from pretending to run, they stammered and stood in place, unmoving. Mr. Hale's face was now a deep red. He seemed to be holding back a few screams.

Then, he brought up another group. He gave them a script, eyes intense and face turning purple. Kairi could see him mentally praying, hoping that these two kids showed more promise or initiative.

It was a romantic script. A blurb from Romeo and Juliet.

Again, the actors were awful. They didn't look at one another. They didn't speak with emotion. Their words were concrete and hard. Their feet were permanently planted in place. Their knuckles were white as they gripped their scripts tightly.

Kairi couldn't help but think about how much better she and Sora could have done it. They would be perfect at this—Sora would play the perfect Romeo, charming and irresistible and boyish. They wouldn't be awkward. They would be the best choice to play them—they weren't afraid to act in love, safe to say. But he wasn't here and she was sitting alone, and again the pangs of loneliness hit her in the chest like a bullet.

Mr. Hale's face turned a faint grey, then blood red. His eyes were wide and wild and his hands flailed about for a moment, and for the first time since this class had begun, he started to scream. Not just yell—_scream._ His voice bounced off of the high rafters and boomed through the room and he paced as he screeched, blood seeping to his neck and cheeks hot.

"Doesn't _anyone_ understand the basis of their scene? For god's sakes, _the script tells you how to behave!_ If it says awkward, you _be awkward._ If it says flirty—be flirty! And for _fuck sakes,_ if it says that you are in love, do not give me awkward glances and feet glued to the ground—_I want passion, I want love!_ Everyone here knows the story of Romeo and Juliet. Everyone _should._ Even the basis of it. Romeo and Juliet are deeply, horribly, terribly in love, so much so that they want to get married after one night of seeing another. _It's love at first sight._ So when I give you a fucking script and it's a scene between fucking Romeo and fucking Juliet, I want _love._ I want passion, love erupting from every single fibre of your body, so much that it _hurts._ I want you _exploding_ with love! Give me something!"

His rant took everyone by surprise; Kairi was sure that the pure loudness of his voice had blown her hair back. Everyone stammered slightly, peering around shyly.

Then, one kid raised his arm slowly. "Um, sir?"

Mr. Hale turned to him, eyes wild. "Yes?"

The kid stammered. "Um. How would—_what is_—how do you _act _in love?"

Rather than scream, Mr. Hale pondered that. When he spoke, his voice was a bit softer. "I realize that you are all young," He said, "And that not all of you have experienced love or seen it in all of it's forms. But this—Romeo and Juliet—that's about as honest as love gets. They met, they fell in love at first sight, they would die to be with one another. That's brutal love. That's _horrifying_ love. It's the kind that will wrap itself around you and strangle you and hurt you, but you'll do it. So _act_ that pain, however you may think it will feel, when given this scene." The more he spoke, the more passion and anger rose in his voice again; his cheeks became red once more.

A girl raised her hand. "Sir, what is love like?"

"Love—" He huffed out a breath, trying to stay calm but being unable to. His hands balled up into fists. It wasn't as if he were angry, though—no, this wasn't anger. This was passion. It became clear to all of those students in the theatre how much Mr. Hale loved acting, loved feelings, loved emotion. Then, his voice was booming loud again and he looked _furious_ and his fists went up to his head as he started to pace once more. "When you're in love with someone, that person is the lighthouse of your universe." He paused, breath loud. "Nothing means as much without them."

The first boy raised his hand, speaking once Mr. Hale turned to him. "So you're saying you can't, like, enjoy a vacation without someone if you're really in love with them?"

Mr. Hale's response was quick, easy. "Of course not." He paused. "Not completely. You recognize beauty, but beauty means less if they don't witness it with you. Beauty is less. You see something sublime and your first thought is that they should be there with you. It's not as good without them. They illuminate. They make everything more. That is love."

The class fell quiet; no more hands raised. Everyone's minds seemed to be racing all at once, all desperately wrapping their minds around what he'd said. Some kids seemed to not understand, simply because love had never been something they'd experienced. Others had a sad ache in their bones, reminding them of a _once love_, one that had come and passed. But Kairi understood completely.

She wished Sora had been there to hear Mr. Hale's beautiful words, so that they could sneak away that evening and talk about them and appreciate them for what they were.

The clock chimed in the distance, signalling that class had ended; everyone grabbed their bags and books.

"That's all for today, then," Mr. Hale called, a bit quiet, now. "See you all tomorrow."

Kairi grabbed her bag and book, feeling far more lonely than she had when she walked into the class, which was hard to believe. It was just like Mr. Hale had said—it was like she'd lost sight of her lighthouse, her Sora. Everything was a bit dim, a bit dangerous. She was lost at sea.


	18. Chapter 18

Sora's eyes, which seemed to be lacking a single ounce of emotion, flickered around the large office. He peered up at the ceiling—it was immaculate; probably fifty feet high and a rich, dark mahogany—then down at the furniture around him. Everything was too perfect, too fancy, too comfortable. Even the lamp, situated on the far too large desk before him, was traced with flecks of gold and shimmering, expensive diamonds.

"I've been talking to your therapist," The Dean spoke, her voice cracking through the silence that had filled the room.

Sora's hands instantly balled up into fists. He sat in an uncomfortable, large chair opposite her, the only thing separating them being the giant desk. When he spoke, his voice was cold and icy. "His name is Eraqus."

"Eraqus," She repeated, voice a bit smaller. "Right. My mistake. Anyways, I've been talking with him. About your…progress."

Sora's eyes drifted down to the floor; it was dark marble, with flecks of gold in it. He scoffed slightly. Even the floors in her office were incredible. "_Great._"

The Dean's expression faltered. "Sora, I'm just trying to help—"

His response was small, quiet—but so harsh that it seemed to lower the temperature of the room. "I don't need your help."

"I _care_—"

Sora's blue eyes flashed up to hers, and the terrible darkness in his expression seemed to say it all. His voice was low, deep, gravelly. "I don't care that you care."

Each word he said was like a stab in her chest; she closed her eyes, took a deep breath through her nose, then shook her head. "Eraqus told me about the scars on your arms," She said, voice shaky. "He said that there was a lot of them."

Sora didn't seem surprised. He'd known this conversation would happen eventually—he wasn't stupid enough to think no one would notice the terrible, ugly marks etched into his flesh. Funny, though. He hadn't though Eraqus had seen them. Sora stayed quiet.

The Dean let out a shaky breath. "Sora—how could you? How could you hurt yourself like that? You think—I just—you think this just hurts you? It doesn't! It hurts—"

"What, you? You expect me to believe that _these_," He peered down at his left arm; at the top of the sleeve he could see the beginnings of the terrible, lumpy scars, "Somehow hurt you more than they hurt me? Fuck off."

She was crying, now. "It's not easy to see you hurting yourself."

"Then don't watch."

She sniffed, wiping her nose. It was red, now. "It's not just me you're hurting, you know."

He barked out a laugh. "Oh—who, then? I'm hurting all of my fellow classmates, the ones who care _oh so much_?" Sora shook his head. "Quit trying to guilt me."

"What about Eraqus?" She demanded. "He cares about you."

Sora's eyes narrowed. "He shouldn't."

"What about Kairi, then? You think you hurting yourself wouldn't hurt her, too?" The Dean sniffed, shaking her head and pressing her lips into a thin line. "She's the one who saw them, Sora. She's the one who told Eraqus."

He blinked, frowning. For a moment, he felt his body completely wash over with dread—and then, disgust. How much had he scared her when she'd first seen them? How terrified of him was she? Sora flinched. A wave of complete, utter self-loathing hit him, knocking him off balance. He felt confused.

"Please, don't hurt yourself," The Dean begged.

Sora, wracked with confusion, cried out in fury. "As if you care!"

"I do!"

"No, you don't," He growled through his teeth. "If you cared, you wouldn't have ripped my best friend away from me."

"It was for the best!" The Dean cried, wiping away some tears. "You're just—you're not in the right state of mind, Sora, you're _lost_, and getting attached to someone when you're going through a bad thing just isn't healthy, it isn't. And she was distracting you—from your studies and your progress and your therapy—and I can't just stand around and watch you get your heart broken, not right after what you've just gone through, okay?"

Now, Sora's anger seemed to have vanished. He was tired. He wanted to lay down and cry. Knowing he couldn't sit in this stuffy office anymore, he pushed himself up from the uncomfortable chair he'd been planted in; his blue eyes landed on the Dean, his godmother. "If I'm not with her," He spat out, voice dead as he looked at the ground, "My heart's already broken." He turned stiffly, pushed open the giant, heavy door, and stepped out.

Outside, the security guard was waiting for him. The guard grabbed Sora's arm tightly, and gave him a nod; they began their walk back to Sora's dorm. Once they got to the building, Sora crawled into his bed and slept.

That was the one thing he could find solace in: sleep. When the day was dark and dreary and filled with flashbacks of Riku and his mother and their old house and the accident, night was a haven. An escape. He would curl up under his blankets, in his bed, and he would dream.

And every single night, he'd dream of the same thing: Kairi, sitting in the lighthouse, smiling and beaming and radiating. And he would be okay again.

* * *

**Author's Note: ****_Hi everyone, thanks for reading! I'm so sorry this has taken FOREVER to be written—my computer broke down and I've been so busy with schoolwork. I'm sorry this chapter is so small after such a long delay. The next few chapters will most likely be the same sort of length, because they are just short catch ups with our beloved characters. I promise, as soon as I have told their thoughts properly, the chapters will get longer. Again, sorry if this disappoints you! Please please PLEASE keep reviewing and reading and helping me out, reviews are really the only thing that motivates me to write and I'm starting to really lack that. Thanks again for reading, I love hearing your feedback! xx_**


	19. Chapter 19

She'd been planning it for two weeks.

It all made sense. It was a flawless plan, really. She was nearly positive that, although she wasn't aware of it, some sort of security watch was on her—the extent that watch went, she wasn't sure. If she tried to make a break for it on a regular day, she'd be caught far too quickly. But tomorrow wasn't any normal day—it was staff day, the one day that staff were all rounded up and pushed into one of the main halls for a long day of meetings and an enjoyable party afterwards. This was when she would make her strike. This was her escape plan.

She needed to see the lighthouse. She was beginning to question whether whatever it was she had with Sora was even _real_, or whether he was just a figment of her imagination she'd dreamt up that had been stolen from her. The lighthouse seemed to be the only reminder of Sora. She needed to visit that magical place—that haven she'd shared with Sora—again just to make sure. The lighthouse was the key, she could feel it. It burst out a light—one that kept boats from crashing on shore, but also one that drew Kairi to the ocean-eyed boy. It was the only thing she had left of him.

So, when it was the start of staff day, she woke up in a fairly pleasant mood. Nervous, but excited. She snuck down to the kitchen before anyone else had awoken and ate her breakfast; she showered and got dressed, and was out the door while the sky was still tinted with darkness. She hit the forest in a matter of minutes. She crossed the boundary of the campus within another ten. That was it—she made it. She was free from the confines of the Academy and the security guards and the Dean. The feeling made her heart soar, reminding her of Sora. She'd only ever felt this free with him along.

She continued her long hike, mind racing. She felt like this _meant_ something. Like the lighthouse would tell her something, give her a hint as to what to do. She could feel it in her chest—_this was right._ The lighthouse would tell her.

Kairi started to get excited, now. Her pace quickened. _What if he was there?_ No, she had to remind herself. No, Sora wouldn't be there. He couldn't. He was under strict watch of security—so strict that she doubted they would get off for staff day. He couldn't have escaped campus. But…what if? She couldn't help but shake the idea that the lighthouse was a complete _Sora_ place, an extension of his presence. It didn't seem possible for the lighthouse to exist if he wasn't there. He had to.

Kairi began to run.

And then, thirty minutes later, chest heaving and throat aching from the icy air flushing through her lungs, she broke from the tree-line and stumbled into the field. _Their field._ It was absolutely piled with snow now, which she'd expected; the drifts were taller here, winding up to above her knees. She plowed through it, desperate to see her lighthouse.

As she got closer, she could see the outline of it through the falling, white-out snow conditions; a smile breaking across her face, she began to run again.

And then, once she was directly in front of the small wooden door and the rocky walls, absolute dread washed over her. The smile on her lips disappeared. Any notion of feeling Sora was completely gone.

The little wooden door was kicked it, battered and beaten; it swung open, falling off of its hinge slightly. Snow from the cold outdoors had whipped into the open door, covering the small entrance floor with a white powder.

Kairi swallowed. Something was wrong.

Right then, she noticed that there was no light flashing above her, spinning round from land to sea and back again. Instead, it was just dead, cold snow. No light. Kairi stumbled forwards, pushing into the building.

The inside was worse. As she climbed the steps, everything pounded into her painfully; her breath rushed out of her in a harsh blow. _Everything was ruined._ The wood on the stairs was scraped, dirty, smashed; up above in the circular room Kairi often spent hours with Sora in, the damage was even worse. The desk in the center was tossed about, the drawers emptied and thrown elsewhere. Papers had fluttered throughout the room. The garbage can was emptied across the floor. The small fridge that had held Sora and Kairi's drinks whenever they visited was now smashed up and its contents spilled and splashed everywhere. And, up above, the large bulb for the light that radiated from the lighthouse was smashed, leaving sharp shards of glass littered across the entire floor.

There was no Sora. There wasn't even a trace of him, no proof that he'd ever spent time here with her. This place—which had once held the essence of him—was now cold and empty, wrecked and ruined. Beside her on the staircase was a simple note, the words scrawled on the blank paper hurriedly:

**_Being off campus is not permitted. Return to your dorm and do not leave campus again._**


	20. Chapter 20

Kairi didn't go out much after the horrible trip to the lighthouse. It had shattered her spirit a bit; her hopes of somehow, secretly managing to keep her friendship with Sora intact without being caught had dwindled, then died out. Not only had they stripped away her best friend, but they'd ruined their little sanctuary as well.

She'd stayed cooped up in her room the following day or so, choosing to sit in solace rather than interact with other people. She was too glum to try and talk and pretend to smile. She just wanted to talk to Sora.

That's what Kairi missed the most—not the kissing, not the cuddling, not the romantic bits—_the talking._ After all, that's how they'd started out: their conversations, whether they were exciting or boring or just a little too quiet to be socially acceptable, were what had brought the two together. Kairi was positive that Sora was the best person to have a conversation with; he was charming and he was witty and whenever anyone would speak to him, he _really_ paid attention, you could tell. Sometimes, when she couldn't sleep, she'd just remember conversations that they'd had, and she'd burst out laughing. Even when he wasn't there, Sora could make her laugh.

Eventually, though, she had to leave her bedroom for food. She'd attempted to creep down the stairs to the kitchen quietly, but stepped on a squeaky floorboard; soon after, a call came from the livingroom, beckoning her.

Kairi made her way towards the livingroom, a bit timid. As far as she could tell, all of the girls except Namine had forgiven her, but still kept their distance; they'd give her sympathetic smiles and small apologies, but nothing more. The fact that they were calling her seemed a bit odd.

"Yeah?" Kairi asked, peering around the corner. Her eyes flickered over the faces that looked at her.

The room was quiet, awkward. Kairi could feel the tension. All of the girls looked over at Namine, who sat in the far corner.

Namine's expression was unusually soft considering how much she'd hated Kairi over the past few weeks. "Can we talk?"

Kairi froze for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure. Here?"

"No—could we talk alone, upstairs?" Namine stood up from her seat, stepping over the legs of the other girls and meeting Kairi in the doorway. "Please?"

"Um," Kairi murmured, "Yeah. Of course."

The two girls made their way upstairs silently, both of their heads absolutely swimming. They went to Namine's room, and closed the door behind them; with a heavy breath, Namine turned to face the darker haired girl across from her.

"So—look," She huffed out another breath, blue eyes shifting to the floor. "I just wanted to say—I'm really sorry. For what I did. I shouldn't have—" Namine sighed again. "If you and Sora really like each other, it shouldn't matter to me. You should be together and be happy."

Kairi felt a bit stiff, like she was stuck in place. Shock spread through her like wildfire, contorting her expression and making her eyes widen. After a long moment, she shrugged off the surprise and mumbled out a quiet response. "Yeah, well it doesn't matter anymore."

Namine frowned, looking concerned. "Did you guys break up?"

Kairi made a face, shaking her head. "What? No—no, we weren't ever together."

"Then, what?"

"The Dean's really laid down the law since you ratted to her—interaction with one another is strictly forbidden." Kairi sighed. Saying it out loud seemed to hurt a bit more than repeating the words in her head.

Namine's face fell. "I'm sorry about that," She whispered. "I only did that because I was mad—as soon as I calmed down, I felt so bad."

"Why didn't you apologize, then?"

Namine blinked. "I was scared. I didn't want you to get mad—I'm so sick of people getting mad at me."

Kairi nodded, understanding. "Roxas, right?" She asked. "You miss him."

"Yeah," Namine said, adding a little laugh and a scoff at herself. "I miss him more than anything. Sucks, but I deserve it." There was a small pause, then Namine's soft voice spoke up again. "You didn't…tell the Dean about Roxas and I, did you?" Her blue eyes twisted up with worry.

Kairi frowned. "What? No, I would never."

Namine let out a sigh. "Good—because I thought since I told the Dean about you and Sora, that you'd do the same, and—" She stopped, biting her lip a bit. "So, you didn't?"

Kairi sighed. "Of course not. I wouldn't snitch on you guys for being together. I love you two."

Namine leaned against her dresser, crossing her arms. She looked at the ground, slightly ashamed. When she spoke, her tone was soft, apologetic. "You're a much better person than I am."

Kairi snorted. "You're just saying that."

"You are, though." She paused. "So, you and Sora are split apart?"

"Yeah," Kairi nodded. "Got separated, then the Dean screamed at me for a good forty five minutes. Threatened to kick me out, too—I guess Sora had already begged her to let me stay, so that's why I'm still here. Dean's made it so we never see each other, and we can't interact at all."

Namine made a face. "Wait a second—how long has it been since you've seen him?"

"Last time I saw him was that night. A month and a half ago? Maybe less. I stopped counting."

"Is that why you're so mopey?" Namine's expression darkened. "Xion said she heard you crying the other night."

"Yeah. Well." Kairi shrugged. "It's sort of hard. He's gone, and you guys were too."

"If it helps, I missed you so much."

Kairi smiled. "I missed you too."

Namine blushed slightly. "Have you…talked to Roxas lately?"

Kairi nodded. "Once or twice every few days, whenever I see him at lunch."

"How is he?"

Her response was blunt. "Sad."

"Good. I mean—not good, obviously. But…good." Namine let out a relieved sigh. "I was so scared he'd be off, making friends with a new group of girls because god knows that he's awful and making guy friends, and then I'd have to try and not be jealous which is _impossible_."

"He misses you a lot. He hated yelling at you. Pretty sure he's still mad at himself for it."

"I need to make it up to him," Namine mumbled under her breath. "He's a real sap, so I better do something dramatic and romantic. He melts at that shit."

Kairi smirked. "Got any ideas?"

"Not yet." There was another beat of silence before she spoke again. "Got any plans about Sora?"

Kairi snorted, but it was an echo of the sadness in her chest. "Not anymore. I mean, what can I do? He's being watched under security and we have no way to talk. We just…can't. There isn't a plan that would work."

"You miss him."

"I'm starting to forget what his voice sounds like," Kairi murmured. "That sounds dramatic, but I can't remember. I used to have every bit of it memorized—how deep it was, how it sounded when he laughed—but I can't quite remember anymore."

Namine stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Kairi, hugging her tightly. Her voice was muffled against Kairi's hair. "Don't worry, Kairi," She whispered. "We'll figure everything out, I promise. I screwed this all up, so I'm going to help fix it. I'll come up with a plan. Promise."

Kairi hugged back tightly. "Okay," She nodded. "Promise."


	21. Chapter 21

Kairi shuffled through the door, breath heavy and painful.

It was the heart of the winter—the coldest winter Destiny Islands had ever seen—and the Academy was planted directly in the middle of the worst of it. The snow had piled up immensely, making it harder to walk from class to class; a walk that was once five minutes for Kairi had now slowed to a long, torturous half hour. The school seemed to be having trouble keeping the snow at bay, too; machines were constantly out, pushing snow from the paths and tossing sand on the ice to give pedestrians some traction. Already, fifteen people had fallen on the slippery paths and gotten concussions. One boy went out to buy a snack one evening and ended up getting caught in a white-out, and was lost for two days.

Kairi dumped her books on the floor, letting out a cry of exhaustion. She sniffled, tearing off her icy mitts and struggling to take off her snow-filled boots. "Anyone make any dinner?" She called out, hoping at least one person had thought of her whilst cooking. She didn't feel up to doing anything but vegging out for a good hour or two.

From out down the hallway, a deep voice called back. "Of course," It chimed. There was a moment's pause before a blonde head poked out from the doorway of the kitchen, blue eyes shimmering with joy. "Chicken fettuccine."

Kairi's expression instantly lifted, lips spreading into a wide grin. "Roxas!" She hissed, elated. "You're back!"

He smiled a bit sheepishly, stepping out of the kitchen and meeting Kairi halfway down the hallway after she started to stumble towards him. As soon as they were close enough, she threw her body at his, hugging him tightly; he hugged back, then flinched away.

"You're cold as hell. Get in the kitchen—food's hot. Maybe it'll help."

Kairi shivered, nodding and following him along towards the delicious scent wafting from the door. "Great."

The girls were all in the kitchen, and as soon as Kairi entered the conversation seemed impossible to stop. Roxas handed her a steaming dish of fettuccine and plopped her down in a seat, urging her to eat while everyone else chatted. The girls all seemed rather pleased that Roxas was back, especially Namine; she clung to him, their hands seeming permanently tied up to one another. If he moved even a step, she would also move one; it was like they were a single entity. When she looked at him, it was with complete adoration.

Roxas, of course, seemed happy to be back. He held on to Namine just as tightly. For whatever reason, they no longer seemed as shy about their little romance—one that they'd kept fairly quiet about, not speaking about it even in the slightest although their friends were obviously aware of it—and didn't seem afraid to lean into one another quietly.

Kairi couldn't help but feel happy for them. She knew how miserable each of them was away from one another, and now they were reunited, stronger than ever. She supposed that's the way it worked—distance makes the heart grow fonder. She wolfed down the fettuccine to stop herself from thinking about herself and a certain ocean-eyed, spiky-haired boy in the same situation as her friends.

Slowly, bit by bit, the girls all slipped away, heading to bed. Eventually, there was only Roxas, Namine and Kairi left, talking and chatting and laughing. It seemed natural with them. Laughter didn't seem so momentary.

But, as Kairi had expected, the conversation dimmed and Roxas spoke, his voice soft with concern.

"Have you seen him?"

Kairi's eyes immediately dropped to the floor. She did that a lot, whenever anything reminded her of Sora. She was beginning to miss him so much it hurt. "No. Not once."

Roxas' blue eyes narrowed slightly. "He's always with security." He paused. "They don't let him leave the dorm."

Namine frowned. "How is that allowed? That's gotta be intruding on some sort of legal rights of his…"

Roxas shrugged. "Absolutely, it is. But who can we tell? The Dean sure as hell doesn't care. She's the one who assigned the guards."

"And there's no phones on campus," Namine muttered, slumping slightly. "What do we do, then?"

Kairi's eyes were still trained on the ground, hands clasped together. Her throat felt tight, almost _too_ tight—it was painful. She couldn't help but feel pity for Sora, which she knew would annoy the shit out of him if he knew about it. He was trapped, constantly stuck in his dorm building all alone. She wanted to run over there and rip him from his bed, sneak out with him and never come back. She wanted to steal him and hoard him away and never let the Dean touch him again.

But she was here and he was there and she couldn't save him.

"Maybe there is a way," Namine said, straightening a bit. She looked over to Kairi. "You guys snuck around here and we didn't catch on for a while, right?"

"Yeah," Kairi nodded. "He's smart like that. He always knew how to keep from getting caught."

"So, maybe he has a plan. Maybe he's already thought one up—he just can't tell us how to do it."

"Sure," Kairi shrugged. Sora was cunning enough to come up with a plan. He was always better than her at that. "But that's the problem—I can't talk to him."

Namine smiled, her hand patting Roxas' chest as she spoke. "Very true. _But_, we _do_ know someone who lives right down the hallway from dear Sora…"

Kairi's eyes widened. "Roxas!" She cried, shock rushing through her. "You—you can be our middleman!"

"I can?" He blinked.

"Yes, dopey," Namine teased, but with a loving tone. "You live in his building, right? So, talk to him. Figure things out, see if he has a plan. Then, tell us. We can coordinate."

A twinge of hope stabbed through Kairi's chest.

"Sounds great and all, but there isn't a moment that the guards aren't beside him. How exactly do I talk to him about breaking out with them breathing down my neck?" Roxas' blue eyes, despite his realistic approach, twinkled with hope.

Namine frowned. "Well…you'll have to go undercover." She paused. "You know, play the part of the innocent roomie. Gain their trust. Infiltrate the system."

Roxas made a face. "In simple terms, please? Not everyone took war history and learned about the secret Russian spies."

"Oh, you simpleton," She snorted. "Alright—you're gonna have to stay there, stay away from us, that's for sure."

Kairi frowned. "Why?"

"_Because,_" Namine nodded, speaking slowly to make it more clear. "They've definitely got you on their radar, Kairi. If Roxas is seen interacting with you too much, they'll catch on. Even if he's interacting with the girls or me too much, they'll dig deeper. Roxas, you've gotta stay away for a while. Stay at your place, hang around there. Start talking to Sora, just about normal things. Eventually—_hopefully—_they'll trust you a bit more, seeing as they'll think you're harmless. Then, when they trust you enough, you strike. Make a plan with him, and tell it to us. Easy."

Roxas groaned. "I have to stay there? That means—"

"No sleepovers. Sorry," Namine sighed, patting his cheek. "We can't be seen together."

He frowned even deeper. "Why am I doing this again?"

"Because Kairi is our nicest, loveliest friend and she needs her boy back," Namine leaned into Roxas, resting her chin on his shoulder. He wrapped his hand around her waist. "It won't be too hard."

"You sure?"

"Positive," She smiled.

Kairi shifted, feeling like she was intruding in their sweet, adorable little moment. "You really don't have to do this," She murmured. "You guys should spend your time together—"

"It's alright, Kairi," Roxas replied, eyes honest. "We will spend time together—once we've gotten Sora back. It's only fair."

"Fair?" She blinked. "How?"

Namine spoke up. The answer seemed obvious to her. "You never told anyone about us, even when I ratted you and Sora out." She shrugged. "We sort of owe you."

Kairi looked down. "You don't owe me anything."

Roxas let out a heavy breath. "Shut up, Kairi, and let me do this for you, okay?"

She blinked, looking up to him in surprise. "Okay."

Namine beamed. "Okay."

"I'm gonna head to bed," Kairi said, noticing the cutesy look fluttering into her two friends' eyes again. She put her dish in the sink and made her way up the stairs, then flopped into bed, not bothering to change out of her clothes.

She couldn't think straight. Her head was swarming, swamped with the thoughts of seeing Sora again and touching his face and hearing his laugh. It seemed sort of like a far off dream, one that was fuzzy and unstable—but she wanted it so badly.

That night, she dreamt of back home. Her tall, shabby house with the smell of her dad's cooking wafting through it, and her sitting in the attic watching the water at night, ocean high above. The water seemed bright, even in the dark of the night. Unusually bright. Almost like it was hopeful, too.


	22. Chapter 22

Roxas peered out his window at the snow-covered ground below. He could see a dark shrouded figure leaving in the early morning darkness, the white snow being the only thing illuminating the area. He began to think in his mind, desperately racing through what he'd been attempting to remember for the past week or so.

His plan was simple. In the past two weeks or so he'd been staying at the dorm without having any contact with Namine or the other girls, he'd been paying strict attention to the schedule of the guards that routinely came to watch over Sora. One would stay the night and watch over him, another would come by in the morning and replace the night guard. The day guard would escort Sora to class, then return him back. By evening, another guard would come and replace the day guard. There were no gaps, no spaces between guard, no nothing—except on Fridays.

Fridays, Roxas had noticed, always had a gap. It was early in the morning, probably three or four. The night guard would leave early, before the replacement guard would arrive to take over his place. The dorm would be unwatched, untouched by supervision. Since Sora was dead asleep, the guards probably didn't see it as a problem. But for Roxas, it was an opportunity.

After a minute of looking out his window and seeing no replacement guard making his way down the snowy lane, he knew it was time to make his move. Roxas' stomach knotted and his hands clenched into fists, and he quickly made his way down the hall. He burst into Sora's room noisily, flicking on the light, knowing the time he had was short.

"Sora," He hissed, making his way over to the other boy's bed and shaking his shoulders a bit, hitting his cheek. "Wake up. This is important."

Sora groaned softly, pushing his face further into his pillow. "What is it?" He moaned, groggy and exhausted.

"It's about Kairi," Roxas hissed, glancing at the clock on Sora's desk. They had about six more minutes, if the guards were consistent.

Sora frowned. When he spoke, his voice—deep with morning voice—was warped, confused and questioning. "Kairi?" He paused, then whipped his head up from the pillow, blue eyes locking with Roxas'. "What about Kairi?"

Roxas' stomach flopped. Five more minutes. "You need to see each other," He snarled. "We need a plan—gotta make a plan."

Sora pulled himself up, forcing himself out of his hazy, groggy state. "Is she okay?" He frowned, voice cracking slightly. "Is everything alright?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, yeah—fine. She just—she misses you."

Four minutes left.

Sora blinked, appearing rather thoughtful. His shoulder slumped a bit, and he rested on his right forearm. "Well. That's—I miss her too. That's good."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Look, we've got around three and a half minutes until another guard shows up here and we're shit out of luck—so if you've got any idea of a plan to get shit rolling and make Kairi smile again, I'd be _honoured_ to hear it."

Sora frowned. "She doesn't smile?"

"_Sora!_"

"Right—yeah. Right." He paused. "Um. A plan?"

Roxas nodded. "Yeah—got one?"

Sora's blue eyes washed over the floor, desperately trying to concentrate. "I don't—how do we get around the guards? I can't just sneak out. If I get caught, the Dean will kick Kairi out of the Academy, she'll be pissed."

Roxas looked at the clock nervously. "Two minutes. _Think._ There's gotta be some way…"

The sound of the door opening down the hallway crashed through the dorm; Roxas closed his eyes, letting out a groan. The guard was early. They had run out of time.

The guard closed the door behind him, letting out an icy breath; he shivered, pulling off his gloves, struggling with the one that seemed permanently frozen to his left pinkie. He heard a slight shuffling down the hall in the bedrooms, but ignored it; it wasn't odd for the bookie kids in this school to be up this early to study. Once he managed to peel off the thin glove from his finger, he peered at his watch: he was perfectly on time, and Bernie, the guard he was supposed to replace, was nowhere in sight. As much as he wanted to be pissed at Bernie for not following the strict rules they'd been issued about watching Sora—the number one rule being that Sora shouldn't be left alone, or else he would sneak out—but he knew that the other guard was dealing with an illness in the family and most likely wanted to be at home as much as possible. The guard shrugged off his jacket and put it on the hanger, then stepped down the hall and into Sora's room.

The room was still, normal. The lights were off, but through the glow from the lamplight outside, the guard could see that nothing was out of place. Sora was in bed, blankets moving with his soft inhale, fast asleep. He made his way to the chair beside the door and slumped into it, dozing off himself.

Down the hall, Roxas' head was spinning—he'd barely made it out without the guard noticing. He grabbed a notebook, tearing a piece of paper out of it and sprawling a single line on it:

**_December 21_**

* * *

**Author's Note:**_ Thanks everyone for reading! So sorry this took a while to come out - I had to leave for a portion of the holidays and had no internet. Again, this is a very choppy short chapter, but it is very important! Thanks again and happy holidays to everyone, i hope you all have a lovely time xx_


	23. Chapter 23

Namine yawned, stretching her limbs slightly without bothering to open her eyes. To her right, her bed felt cold and bare; a wave of loneliness swept over her, as it had every morning for the past couple weeks or so. As glad as she was that she'd reunited with Roxas, the fact that they couldn't be seen together seemed to sting more than she'd anticipated. Of course, she knew what they were doing was right. They had to, for Kairi. She needed her Sora.

Letting out a heavy breath through her nose, Namine began to mentally prepare herself for the day. It was Saturday, so there were no classes. So far, the days off had been the worst. When she had classes, she could focus on her schoolwork and studying—but when it was the weekend the lack of Roxas seemed to make itself more pronounced. It was going to be a very boring, quiet day.

Namine opened her eyes, but was met with an odd darkness. She frowned, closing her eyes and then reopening them. Nothing. How peculiar. She slapped her hand up to her face, realizing that there was a piece of paper taped to her forehead, blocking her sight; she tugged it off, flinching slightly as the tape peeled off of her skin, and pulled herself up to rest on her elbows

Her head cocked to the side as she peered at the note. It was fairly blank, only a few words messily scratched onto it. She recognized the writing and knew exactly whose it was, but wasn't quite sure what the words meant.

**_It happened. Meet behind cafe, 1 AM. Don't be late._**

Namine ran a hand through her hair, unsure what to think. Clearly, the message was from Roxas—she'd memorized his writing after having to proofread his essays for the past few years—but it didn't seem too pleased. She wondered if he'd been successful or not in trying to talk to Sora about a plan. She paused for a moment, frowning at her white sheets. Maybe there wasn't a plan at all.

* * *

Not wanting to worry the other girls, Namine kept the news from Roxas to herself. She didn't want to get their hopes up in case Roxas told her that things weren't going to work out. At midnight, she bundled herself up in her winter gear—the weather was only getting worse, according to the on-campus reports—and snuck out of the dorm, making sure not to wake the others. Namine trudged through the silent, icy campus, eventually making her way to the backside of the cafe. Here, there were no lampposts or lights of any kind. Mentally, Namine praised Roxas on how meticulous he was. The place he'd chosen to meet was the safest place on campus: quiet, secluded, and too dark to be seen by cameras in case they happened to be spotted by security.

"Roxas?" She whispered out, quietly at first. The section behind the cafe was a small eat-out area; in the summer, small diner tables were placed out there and people could drink their lattes or nibble on their cheesecake in the beauty of the summer sun. This winter, however, everything had been packed up and stored inside due to the cold, leaving the backside of the cafe a desolate, empty brick notch in the building. The walls of the building poked out a bit further than the courtyard, protecting it from the snow and wind. Namine's words echoed loudly, bouncing off the empty walls. "Roxas!"

A voice whispered back. "I'm here."

"Where are you?"

"Far corner—it's warm over here. Follow my voice."

Namine shuffled towards where Roxas' voice came from. "I can't see a thing."

"I can see. Hold on, I'll come to you."

Namine held her spot, listening to the movement that came closer and closer to her. Soon enough, there was a warm hand intertwined with hers. Namine grinned, although she wasn't sure whether she was even facing Roxas or not. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

She felt the urge to ignore the real cause of their meeting and attack his face with her own, but reminded herself what she was here for and what they had to do. "Did you come up with anything? Did anything happen?"

Roxas sniffed; he sounded cold. "Yeah. I talked to him once—for about three minutes. Those guards are never out of sight. The Dean's got them wrapped around him like he's a criminal. It's insane."

Namine shook her head. "What is her problem? She's got some crazy hold on him. Poor guy."

"You don't even know—it's terrible. He can't do anything. They walk him to class, sit next to him, walk him back home. When he gets there, they don't let him talk to us or leave the dorm. They watch everything he does. The only moments he gets alone are when he's in the bathroom."

Namine tightened her grip on his hand. She felt obliged to free this boy—this stranger—out of the confines that had been tossed onto him. After all, she had caused it. "Got a plan?"

"Sort of," Roxas said, words sounding a bit shallow, "Our talk time was limited. Guard came back. We didn't get to plan too much."

"Did he have anything?" Namine urged, a bit desperate. She needed to free him. She needed to have Kairi and Sora back together—it was all her fault. "Anything—anything at all?"

"Yeah." Roxas shrugged. "He said, um, December 21st."

Namine frowned, blinking. "December 21st."

Roxas paused. "Yes."

She made a face. "Is that supposed to mean something?"

"I wish I knew. I had to leave—that's all I could get. I hoped you would catch on to something."

Namine peered up at the dark sky, watching the snowflakes flickering down from it. "Is it a symbol for something?" She thought for a moment. "The 21st—that's the solstice. Start of official winter, shortest day of the year. Maybe it's a metaphor, a meaning..."

Roxas nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Shortest day of the year? Could symbolize the shortest day of security. Maybe he's telling us that the guards will be leaving early."

"Solstice is derived from the latin word 'sol' meaning sun. Could that be a part of it?"

"What?" Roxas snorted. "You think he's trying to tell me a message about the sun?"

"In Vietnamese, solstice is the equivalent of _Đông chí, _meaning 'winter's extreme'. That could mean something."

"That could symbolize the guard's wrath, the hold the Dean's got on him—that it'll get worse on the 21st. He could be telling us to act quickly, to try and reunite them before it gets even worse."

Namine's face twisted into a crumpled frown, deep in thought. "Maybe it's deeper than that, I don't know," She said, tugging on Roxas' hand and leading him back towards the direction of the girls' dorm. Now that he had spoken to Sora, there was no need to be separate anymore. "Think about it. Kairi said that the only reason Sora wasn't kicked out of the Academy was because the Dean is his godmother, right? The Solstice is the start of winter over here, the very first day. A new beginning. Maybe that means that he's dropping out, starting new."

"But what would that have to do with me asking for a plan?" Roxas inquired.

"Maybe he just wanted to warn Kairi. He can't talk to her, and this was his only way, through you. Maybe he didn't want to leave without trying to let her know."

The two walked quickly, hand in hand, to the girls' dorm. Their pace was faster than usual due to the icy chill that blew at them, and they arrived within minutes. Their entry into the dorm was not nearly as quiet as Namine's initial escape; they clanged against the walls while attempting to remove their winter gear and their voices were not hushed. Within minutes, the rest of the house seemed to awaken around them; the rest of the girls came down from the staircase and into the kitchen, following the loud chatter from Namine and Roxas.

They were still contemplating what Sora's message could possibly mean. They delved into deeper topics, translating it into other languages and trying to find a concrete meaning that made sense. The other girls joined as well after all had been explained to them, offering deeper insights that could have made sense but didn't seem to click.

"In Indo-European roots, solstice relates to 'stitium' meaning 'a stoppage'. Could that relate at all?" Olette spoke up. "A stoppage. Maybe that means the guards will stop? Or possibly the relationship between Kairi and Sora. Hard to tell."

Kairi, being the only one who hadn't initially awoken to the noise of Roxas and Namine, was still fast asleep upstairs, not bothered by the muffled chatter below in the kitchen.

All of the girls—except Kairi—and Roxas were crowded around the large island in the middle of the kitchen. They had a pad of notepaper in the middle of it, and Namine was listing down the ideas that had been offered up. So far, they were all translations into distant, foreign languages that offered possible insights to the idea of the guard surrounding Sora stopping or eventually getting even more strict. So far, nothing had been really solid.

"Anyone hungry?" Xion spoke, voice quiet as per usual. "I'll make eggs."

Roxas gave her a nod. "I'd love some—thanks, Xi."

Xion's lips spread into a small smile, and she made her way to the fridge; she tugged it open, snatching the carton of eggs and the jug of milk from inside. She set it on the counter beside her, and closed the fridge door. For a moment, her eyes simply swept over the stickers, magnets and papers posted onto the white door, but then she froze. Her eyes darted back to the calendar that was stuck to the middle of the fridge. "What was the date Sora gave again? December 21st?"

"Yeah," Namine nodded. "The winter solstice."

Xion was quiet for a moment, and then burst into laughter. She began to laugh so hard that her sides ached, and she had to hold herself from falling apart.

Roxas frowned, concerned. "Xion—are you okay?"

Xion shook her head, black hair swinging as she leaned forward and laughed again. "You guys," She belted out, breath shallow from the laughter erupting from her. "We are looking _way_ too far into this."

Namine cocked her head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Xion said, sucking in a heavy breath. "We are going too deep. Think about it. Sora's not a regular student here—he didn't get in on his own. Kairi's told us that. He was put here because the Dean is his godmother. Correct?"

"Correct."

"So, why would we think he could translate this into twenty foreign, ancient languages? He wasn't sending us some symbol or metaphor. He told us exactly what we were supposed to know."

Olette made a face. "What are you talking about?"

"He wasn't talking about the solstice or the shortest day of the year or any translations—he was talking about the date. December 21st—that's the winter formal." Xion shook her head. "He wants to meet up with Kairi at the winter formal."

There was a moment of silence amongst the group, and then Roxas burst into laughter. The others followed suit, and Namine shook her head in disgust.

"I can't believe I didn't figure that out," Namine hissed, growling slightly. "How'd you know, Xion?"

"It's on the calendar," Xion smiled softly. "Kairi wrote it and there's a heart beside it. Something tells me they planned to go—and Sora still intends to."

Olette sighed. "How romantic."

"That's a great idea of his, and all," Roxas responded, nodding. "But how does he think he's gonna make it? I doubt that he'd be allowed. Security would be tight."

They sat in silence once more, all trying to think of a plan.

"I don't think there is a way," Namine murmured. "He'll never get out."

Roxas shook his head. From what he'd seen of Sora and how he'd been interacting with the guards, the boy was one hundred percent the most charming person Roxas had ever encountered. "If anyone can do it," Roxas said, voice a bit gruff, "Sora can."


	24. Chapter 24

It was Friday.

To anyone other than Kairi, it was a monumental day at the Academy. This Friday wasn't just a simple, regular Friday—it was the day of the last classes before winter break, the day where everyone was temporarily freed of the chains that the school held on them. No classes for two and a half weeks, no exams, no abiding the teachers. Some kids left as soon as their last class was over; they could get picked up on campus by parents or family, or they could take one of the buses, ready and waiting, and travel down the mountain to the little village and be picked up there. Other students didn't leave campus at all; whether they wanted to stay or they simply had nowhere else to go, the campus was always wide open all Christmas break. The students could stay in their dorms and receive a beautiful feast every morning and night throughout the break in the main hall, roam campus as much as they pleased so long as they didn't disrupt things to terribly or damage any school property. Things were pretty slack. For the past week or so, the entire campus was booming with the excited chatter of the students, eagerly awaiting their escape from the daily grind of class.

Naturally, Kairi had forgotten.

She'd planned it all out with her father months ago, due to the lack of communication allowed between off and on campus. They'd set it all up: she would hop on the last bus the school would have waiting and be shipped down to the small village at the base of the mountain, and be picked up by her father there. They would return to her home town, her small ram-shackle house overlooking her ocean, and she'd spend the break doing what she always used to do: having fun with her dad, walking around the lovely town, visiting people. It would be just like it used to. Her dad was nearly as excited as she was.

But then, in the commotion of exams and studying and the increasingly terrible lack of Sora laughter, it had slipped her mind. She'd been rather miserable the past few weeks and had stuck to herself, thereby preventing her from overhearing any conversations or chatter about it. In fact, it hadn't even hit her that classes were ending that day. To her, it was a regular Friday.

Until of course, she returned home from drama and was beckoned by Namine. Grabbing a snack on the way up, Kairi jogged up to her friend's room—and then froze in the doorway. To Kairi's surprise, she found all of the girls glaring at themselves in the large mirror, swishing from side to side and fiddling with the beautiful dresses they all wore.

Kairi frowned. "Are you going to a wedding?"

The girls all froze in their places, no longer touching up their makeup or altering the way the dresses laid on their bodies.

Namine turned to face Kairi, eyes washing over the darker haired girl's blank expression. Then, Namine let out a horrible, anguished groan. "Don't tell me you forgot!" The blonde cried, raising her fists up as if she were angry at the gods up above.

Kairi's blue eyes widened. "There _is_ a wedding?" She cried. "I forgot a wedding?"

Aqua turned, the navy blue dress she wore swinging slightly with the movement. "There's no wedding, Kairi." She let out a laugh. "It's the dance—the winter formal."

Namine shook her head, adding, "I can't believe you forgot."

Kairi's eyes shot wide open. "Woah, woah, woah—_wait._ The winter formal? _Tonight?_"

Her roommates all nodded.

Her jaw fell slack. "That means…" Kairi trailed off, all of the information hitting her like a brick wall. More time had passed than she'd thought—she thought there were more classes, more studying, more exams. She'd forgotten completely about the dance, and she'd forgotten completely about the fact that tonight was the night she would be able to head back to her hometown. "Holy shit. I need to pack. _Holy shit._"

Namine let out a laugh. "_Pack?_ Packing can wait, Kairi. _The dance is priority._"

Blinking, a bit of a distant look wiped over Kairi's features. "The dance?"

Namine snorted. "D-A-N-C-E. Dance. Y'know—sparkly lights, pretty dresses, cute boys in tuxes, you dance all night and hopefully get kissed at the end of the night?" She sighed. "Sorta my life long dream here."

Xion smirked. "You won't have to dream for long. You've got Roxas."

The blonde blushed slightly, then cleared her throat. "Anyways—Kairi. I can't believe you forgot. You even wrote it on the calendar."

"I did?" Kairi frowned, trying to think back. Then, it hit her: Sora had promised to take her to the winter formal one night, and when she'd gotten home she felt like she was full of butterflies and had written the date on the calendar, surrounded by hearts and all. The memory was like a stab in her gut; she winced, trying to push it out of her mind. "Oh. Well."

"Here," Namine grinned, reaching back into her closet and pulling out a pretty strapless floral dress. "Picked it out for you when we went shopping on Freedom Day. Of course, since you were out romping god knows where instead of meeting up with us, I had to guess your size. Luckily, I'm a bit of a fashion protégé—I can guess people's sizes just by looking."

Kairi's eyes landed on the pretty dress, but she shook her head. "I can't."

Olette frowned. "Aw, why not?"

"I just…" She stuttered, tripping over her words. "I'm too busy—I need to pack, I've got to get my things together, and…"

"Come on, Kairi, get real," Namine said, chucking the dress at Kairi, who caught it before it hit the ground. "You can pack afterwards—there's tons of time between the end of the dance and the last bus down."

"How'd you know I was taking a bus?"

Namine made a face. "You told us like four months ago."

Kairi made a face at the ground. "Am I the only one who forgets shit?"

Aqua laughed. "Yes."

She frowned. "Darn." Kairi sucked in a quick breath. "But, really—I can't go. I'm…" She trailed off, thinking about how happy she'd been the day she wrote the date of the dance on the calendar. "It just wouldn't be the same, okay?"

There was an odd urgency in Namine's voice. "Kairi," She pleaded, "It'll be fun. _Please._ We can dance—I won't even ditch you for Roxas—just…please."

"I have studying, too. Can never be too prepared…"

Namine stepped forward, placing her hands on Kairi's shoulder. "Please. Put the dress on. I will do your hair. We will all dance with you. You can even have Roxas. Just…please."

Kairi met Namine's oddly intense, pleading gaze with a confused frown, but nodded nonetheless. She wasn't particularly sure _why_ she agreed to attend the dance that would surely only provide more reason to feel miserable and pronounce the lack of Sora's presence even more clearly than it already had, but she thought maybe it had something to do with the way Namine looked like she might beg if she didn't.

As Namine tugged her away to start doing things to her hair and face and whatever, Kairi began to imagine what Sora's reaction to the floral dress would be. Usually, she would have known exactly what he would have said—but this time, she couldn't bring herself to think up a _Sora_ response. Maybe she was beginning to lose him more than she'd first thought.


	25. Chapter 25

**Author's Note:**_NEW YEAR NEW CHAPTER. I finished this up at about four in the morning because I really wanted to give you guys a New Year's present. I just re-read it and realized that there probably about fifty grammatical errors and just words missing so I've edited it and fixed it up…hopefully it's all good, but I tend to miss a lot whilst editing my own work. Sorry bout that! Anyways, thanks so much for reading and please please please comment, review, etc, because it really motivates me to write the next chapters quickly and nicely! Hopefully the next chapter won't take too long. Thanks again, happy new year & have a lovely holiday xx_

* * *

Kairi had tried to enjoy the dance at first.

The girls had primped and poked at her, making her hair twist into soft waves and stuffing her in the lovely floral dress. They had hyped her up, telling her stories of the past couple dances they'd attended, whispering the gossip about the shenanigans that had gone on. For the first time, she'd started to feel a bit excited about it—maybe it would be fun. Maybe it would ease her mind, having a good time out with her friends.

The pack of girls certainly made an entrance out of their arrival; as they'd walked through the large hall that the party was being held in, a few boys had gawked and more than a couple girls had eyed them with jealousy.

Kairi's first impression of the dance was one of complete surprise: she hadn't expected anything nearly this spectacular. Growing up in a rather small village on Destiny Islands, the dances at her school were thrown in the school gym with a single disco ball hanging from up above—a weak comparison to the winter formal at the Academy. The dance itself was being held in one of the bigger halls on campus, in the second arts building; the ceiling was higher than Kairi thought was architecturally possible. Low lights flickering across a spectrum of colors lit the space; the walls were covered in what looked to be thick, golden silk that lined the huge area. The place was packed full—it appeared that no one had left campus early, although Kairi didn't blame them—with everyone up and dancing. The music was loud, blasting throughout the hall so greatly that Kairi could feel the beat in her toes, in the floor. Near the end of the hall, there hung a huge dark curtain, separating into another space; when Kairi asked, Namine explained that seating was back there, and when the students got tired or hungry they could head back there to be served a meal of their choosing. The entire hall was littered with expensive decorations, streamers fell from the ceiling—although, Kairi was sure they were different, probably a hundred times more expensive than the paper streamers she had at her childhood birthdays—and thousands upon thousands of bright, twinkly fairy lights blinked above them, mimicking the stars in the night sky. Kairi was absolutely astounded, overwhelmed by the entire place, unlike her friends.

"Come on," Namine shouted over the music, although she was still drowned out by the tunes, "Let's dance!"

The girls tugged Kairi out onto the crowded dance floor—which took up the entire hall—and began to dance wildly to the music. Kairi, not really knowing what to do, simply swayed in place to the music, laughing with her friends as a couple boys tried to impress them with their hilarious moves.

At that point, Kairi began to think that the dance wasn't all that bad, that it might even turn out to be a great night; she had her friends by her side and was enjoying herself. She figured it even beat sitting alone in her room and eating pizza, which had been her plan before Namine had hijacked her and forced her to appear here.

And then, it got worse.

One by one, each of her friends seemed to disappear into the crowd, accepting boys' offers to dance or escaping away to the back room to take a seat and have a drink. At one point, she was dancing with Aqua while a boy—his name was Terra; everyone always teased her about him, although it was clear that they were more family-like rather than romantic—asked her to dance and swept her away. After that, she was with just Namine, who had promised to stay by her side, and turned to dance with her only to catch a glimpse of her back as Roxas tugged the blonde girl into the crowd, disappearing. And then, Kairi was completely alone.

She stood there for a moment, peering around to see if any of her friends were nearby; after five minutes or so, she found that they had all gone, split up and separated. Kairi considered dancing some more with the people around her; a few boys were still goofily trying to pull some laughs with their raunchy dance moves, but she bet against. Suddenly, the music was too loud. The lights were too blinding. She had a headache. She felt dizzy.

Kairi pushed through the crowd with difficulty, slowly stumbling towards the curtain that lead to the lounge area of the dance; she pushed through it, peering around for anyone she knew. Surprisingly, the lounge was nearly empty and none of her friends were anywhere to be found.

Kairi sat down for a minute, ordering a glass of water from a waiter, sipping it once she arrived. Her headache persisted. Her stomach felt heavy. Although she was sure her friends hadn't purposely done this to her—they probably got accidentally swept away from their little area, and she knew that Namine deserved some time with Roxas—it still stung a bit.

Figuring she might as well go back out to the dance floor and search for her friends, Kairi finished her glass and pushed back the dark curtain, immediately being immersed and swallowed by the crowd.

People were dancing violently, limbs moving radically; Kairi was pushed around and about, getting knocked a few times so hard that she was sure she'd be covered in bruises the next morning. She looked around for her friends desperately, the anxiety rushing through her beginning to build in the pit of her stomach as the seconds passed. And then, the most horrible thing happened.

"Let's slow it down, now—this one's for the couples!" A low voice murmured over the intercom, interrupting the currently upbeat song. There was a moment's pause and the crowd shifted; the couples seemed to clasp together whilst the individuals all shoved towards the curtains to the lounge.

_Thunk._ The lights went off, leaving the hall completely black.

_Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. _Even more twinkly lights turned on, flashing above crowd's heads; some spotlights turned on, too, landing on a few couples. Another set of lights lit up the hall that swirled about, giving it a more romantic vibe. All of the lowlights flickered to tones of pink and purple and red.

Then, a slow, romantic song came on.

Kairi turned around, peering around her; the hall—which was a lot more roomy now that a few dozen people had left—was filled with only couples. Couples holding hands. Couples smiling. Couples nuzzled into one another. Couples kissing, probably due to the fact that the only supervision they had were some security and the DJ, who appeared to be pretty lax with the whole '_no romance'_ thing. Everything was pink and red and soft. The music was sweet and melodic and tender. Kairi spun, feeling a bit dazed, and noticed a few familiar faces: Namine and Roxas on the far side of the hall, cuddled together as they swayed to the song; Aqua and that one boy, Terra, dancing and laughing, completely off of the beat of the song; Olette and some sandy-haired boy, holding hands shyly and dancing slightly off-tempo; Xion and a red-haired boy were grinning and giggling, and she stood on his toes as he swayed to the song. Kairi's face twisted up into one of pain and loneliness upon realizing that everyone else had their someone. Her hands felt very cold.

Then suddenly, she was pushing through the crowd, knocking and bumping into couples, not bothering to apologize; she was walking faster, faster, jogging until she was flat out running. She hit a boy in the shoulder and slammed into a couple, pushing past them and only running faster because there was this horrible feeling rising in her chest and she was starting to choke on it and she couldn't breathe and everything was so, so, _so_ wrong. And finally, after what felt like an eternity, she'd broken free of the people and the crowd and the soft music and she was in a small corridor off of the big hall. Her eyes flickered to the door of the girls washroom and she ran to it, slamming it open and dashing in. The washroom was empty and she sprinted to a stall, closing and locking the door behind her. Then she broke down and began to sob, her chest feeling too tight and her limbs feeling heavy, sliding down the wall to sit on the clean tile floor.

Tears slid down her cheeks and her nose was runny and she was blubbering like a baby; her breath was shallow and ragged, uneven and broken. Her mind was racing and she started to cry harder, her makeup smudging and salty tears dripping onto the pretty dress.

She wished she hadn't come. She wished she'd stayed home and sat alone in her room and ate pizza. She wished she wasn't wearing that stupid dress or those stupid shoes and she wished her hair was plain and straight and normal. She wished she'd never heard that stupid mushy song and seen those stupid couples dancing and swaying and being in love. She wished Namine had never told the Dean about her and Sora. She wished she could go back in time to the start of the year just to relive every moment she'd spent with her guy.

Kairi missed Sora. He was her person. He made everything better. And had he been here—had they not been separated—the dance probably would have been super. They would have danced and sat in the lounge and eaten delicious food, and they would've held each other close when the slow songs came on, and she would have been able to smell him and touch him and look into his eyes. They would've said cute things to each other and laughed all night, and at the very end right before she had to go get on the bus to the village beneath the mountain, they would have kissed and said goodbye. They both would have gone on winter break and had a good time, but missed one another. Best of all, they would come back after the break and be reunited.

But that was all a dream, and it wasn't real, and she was crying in a bathroom stall during the school dance.

* * *

Kairi wasn't sure how long she'd been in the bathroom stall crying her eyes out, but by the time she'd gotten herself together—although she was still on the verge of tears—and wiped the black smears from her face and returned to the hall, it was jam packed again and filled with loud pop music. She felt weary, worn down now; all she wanted to do was have a good nap, have a good cry in the privacy of her own room, and then go home with her father.

Again, she was sucked into the thick crowd as if it were magnetic; it swallowed up around her, suffocating her, and she attempted to push through it to get to the exit on the far side. By the time she reached the far end, the air was choked out of her again and she was barely holding on to the slight calm she'd managed to grip onto in the washroom. Kairi's eyes were wet and a few tears had slipped down her cheek, and she'd never felt more lonely in her entire life. She walked out of the large, heavy front doors to the hall, just a desolate person silently slipping away from a twisted, tangled crowd of happiness.

And then, she was alone in the cold, standing on the tall steps outside of the building. The music from the party beat through the large doors, shaking the pearly steps, vibrating through her toes. Kairi peered out, looking out at the lane she had to take to get back to her dorm, covered in snow, lit by the golden glow of streetlamps. She looked at her skinny black heels, then back to the path. Not quite stable enough to walk through the snow, Kairi slid down to sit on the cold, white steps—which were luckily cleared of snow—and wiped the few stray tears. As soon as she wiped them, more tears replaced them. And then more. She started to outright cry again.

To the left, a few stragglers who were late to the party appeared; two girls squealed slightly as they jogged through the snow, followed by a group of boys wearing their best tuxes who hopped up the steps talking about which girls they wanted to dance with the most. As they passed, Kairi wiped her nose, keeping her eyes on her feet, trying to look like she wasn't crying. She didn't know why she'd bothered. The people passed by without noticing her much.

After a few more minutes, another straggler hurried in from the path to the right, breath heavy and bothered. Kairi didn't bother to stop crying this time; she kept her eyes on the cold stone steps, heart aching terribly. The person was hissing things under their breath as they walked into view; in a deep voice, the person muttered some swears under their breath. Kairi sniffed, patiently waiting for them to pass so that she could continue to cry in peace.

At the sound of Kairi's sniff, the person looked up. Then, they stopped right in front of the stone steps. For a long second, they didn't move. When they spoke, their voice was deep, gruff. "Kairi_?_"

Kairi's head snapped up, stinging eyes landing on the boy at the base of the steps. Instantly, she sucked in a painful, sharp breath. "Sora?"

Sora's expression lit up, the most beautiful grin splashing over his features. "_Kairi!_"

There didn't seem to be any breath left in Kairi's lungs. "_Sora_," She breathed, eyes flickering every single inch of him. He was wearing a nice tux—actually, it was a _beautiful_ tux—and held a corsage in his left hand. His right hand—which was purple and bruised at the knuckles—was up against his nose, wiping it. His nose was cut up on the top, and looked like it had been brutally hit; blood poured down from it, tumbling over his lips, staining the front of his tux as well as the white waistcoat beneath it. Despite the fact that he was covered in blood, he looked as handsome as ever. "You're…it's you. You're here."

He stood there, down at the bottom of the steps for a moment, and then it seemed to click into his head that he'd made it, he was here and Kairi was here and everything was okay. He bolted up the steps as fast as possible, practically throwing himself at Kairi; his body slammed into hers and he wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her as tight as possible without hurting her. Sora's head nuzzled into her neck and he closed his eyes, trying to remember this moment. _He got here. He did it. Kairi's here. He was holding her._

Kairi clung to him, breathing him in, feeling the strength of his muscles as he wrapped around her. She could hardly believe that this was reality; she had to pause, make sure this wasn't some fantasy she'd concocted out of dismal loneliness. But no, it _was_ real and he was here and she could feel him breathe against her and she could feel his heartbeat through his tux. Tears streamed from her eyes even faster than before, now out of pure happiness. _Sora was here._

Kairi's voice was muffled by Sora. "I can't—Sora, I just." She sucked in a breath. "I missed you so much, it's—I can't believe you're here."

Sora pulled back, ocean eyes meeting Kairi's. "I missed you too," He said, voice so deep it was practically a croak.

Up close, Kairi realized that the cuts on his nose—which were deep and raw—were worse than she'd thought. However, it was the large amount of blood that was pouring down from his nostrils across his lips, trailing to his tux that really had Kairi worried.

"You're bleeding," She murmured, her right hand resting on his cheek. "Why are you bleeding?"

Sora blinked, that beautiful smirk of his flashing onto his lips, sending Kairi into a trance. "Oh. Got into a bit of a tussle on the way."

Kairi's eyebrows pulled down as her frown grew. "With who?"

Sora made a face, almost as if he was afraid Kairi would be disappointed with his response. "My security guards," He responded, although it sounded like more of a question than a statement.

Her eyes widened. "You fought your security guards?"

"I had to," Sora replied, voice falling soft as his eyes ran over Kairi's face, "I had a date."

Kairi met his gaze for a moment, and then cast her eyes down, tears welling up in her eyes and threatening to spill over the edge.

Sora frowned, pulling away from Kairi; her hand fell from his cheek to her side as he sat beside her on the stone steps. A bit timid, he twisted his hand around her left one, squeezing it softly. "Why are you crying?"

"I just…" Kairi whispered, pausing to let out a quiet sob. "I missed you so much."

Thinking that he'd made her upset, Sora's voice softened. As he spoke, he ran small circles over her hand with his thumb. "I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you—I tried, honestly. They said they'd start punishing you if I kept trying to reach you."

"Sora—these are happy tears," Kairi shook her head, turning to look at the boy. "I know you would've come to me if you could. I knew that."

"So, you haven't given up on me, then?"

Kairi tried to swallow the lump in her throat. "Of course not," She whispered, "I'll never give up on you. You're too cute."

Sora snorted, blowing off the compliment—but Kairi noticed the flush of color in his cheeks. He let out a sigh, then leaned his forehead against her shoulder. "You have no idea how shitty it was to not hear you talk," He mumbled. "Thought I was gonna go insane."

Kairi leaned into him, pressing a kiss to his cheek, then another and another. After a few more small, fluttery kisses to his skin she simply left her lips there, lingering against his cheek. She spoke against his skin, "I missed your face. You have such a nice face."

"Hah. Typical. Only likes me for my body."

"It _is_ a nice body."

"Yours isn't too shabby either," Sora smirked, eyes twinkling when he looked down at her. After a long moment of silence, his deep voice cracked through the cold air again. "Why are you out here? Shouldn't you be in the party?"

Kairi pressed another kiss to Sora, on his forehead this time. "Yeah, well…" She shrugged. "Wasn't fun without you."

Sora's adam's apple bobbed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," She shook her head, running her hand along his cheek and lifting his face to look at her. "You're here. That's…that's all I want."

For a long minute, Sora simply looked at Kairi, eyes washing over her features. Then, almost as if he couldn't contain it anymore, he groaned out, "_God_, I just—I missed you," and proceeded to hastily press soft, gentle kisses all over Kairi's face, trailing down her neck.

Kairi giggled, hands wrapped around Sora's neck as he dove at her. "Someone's horny."

Sora growled into her neck. In between kisses—which were getting more sloppy as time progressed—he mumbled out, "They didn't leave me alone in my bedroom, _of course_ I'm—"

She snorted, cutting him off. "Okay, Romeo. You're romantic talk really gets my heart all a flutter and whatnot."

His hand gripped her waist a little bit more tightly; his words sounded like a groan into her skin. "Don't tease—this is a genuine problem for me."

Kairi laughed. "You're getting blood on me, Sora."

Sora let out a noise—what sounded like a snarl from an animal—and pulled away from her. "Ah, shit—you're right." He gestured to his nose. "How bad is it?"

Kairi looked at his nose; fresh blood continued to trickle from his nostrils, slightly more than it was a few minutes ago—probably because he'd bumped into Kairi a few times. "Pretty bad," She grimaced, narrowing her eyes as she inspected it. "Cut on top is pretty ugly—and you're starting to bleed more. We can head back to my dorm, if you want."

"That's probably not a bad idea, actually—guards should be waking up any moment and remembering what happened. They'll be looking for me soon."

"Okay," Kairi nodded as Sora stood, then offered her a hand. She took it and he helped her up. Before they stepped off of the step, Kairi tugged off her heels and held them in her left hand, then intertwined her right hand with Sora. She walked through the snow like that: barefoot and happy.

Their walk was slow and steady, filled with easy conversation. Kairi found it odd how they slipped back into things so easily—an hour ago, she'd been in a bathroom stall bawling her eyes out, and now she was with Sora and laughing and more okay than she'd been in a long time. For the longest time, she'd pushed back the sadness their separation had caused her and tonight it had finally shone through—but it was okay, because this made up for it. Holding his hand and hearing his voice made up for the shitty dance and the crying in the bathroom and being alone during the slow dance. She didn't care about that anymore. She was happy.

Eventually, the cold began to feel like needles pricking her feet, so Sora offered to give her a piggy back; she crawled up onto his back and they walked along at a gentle pace. When they got to the dorm, she passed him down her keys and he opened up the door, the heat wrapping around them as if it was welcoming them home.

Keeping her on his back, Sora set Kairi's keys down on the bench by the door, as well as the corsage he'd brought her—he mentioned that Roxas had given to him to give to Kairi at the dance—and then made his way up the steps towards the washroom. Kairi instructed him where the cloths were, and he grabbed one, wetting it in the sink and handing it up to Kairi. From on his shoulders, she dabbed at his bloody nose, apologizing and wincing whenever Sora let out a grunt of pain. After about twenty minutes, she'd cleaned up all of the dried blood that had spilled over his nose, lips and chin, as well as made sure the cut on the top of his nose was clean. Then, the two headed to Kairi's room. The two fell quiet as they walked down the hallway, just the sound of Sora's steps radiating through the house.

He pushed open her bedroom door, closing it behind them. Neither of them bothered to flick on the light; the moon and the streetlamps down the paths outside gave her room a soft glow, allowing them to see enough. Without speaking, Sora let Kairi down from his shoulders, making sure that she was firmly planted on two feet before diving at her, pushing her body gently against the wall and pressing his lips to hers. They stayed like that for a long time, remembering each others' mouths, before Kairi tugged Sora to the bed.

Kairi pulled off her dress—Sora had blushed, then turned to face the wall once he'd realized she was in just her underwear—and tugged on some pyjamas. She curled up under the sheets, watching Sora as he peeled off the tux—the jacket, the waistcoat, the dress shirt—that was drenched in his blood before he followed suit and hopped into the bed after her. Kairi pressed her forehead against his, overjoyed. It had been months since her bed had felt this full, and she felt like singing. He was here. They were together.

Sora wrapped his long arms around her waist, hugging her close to him. "I missed this," He whispered, nuzzling into her. "I can't be away from you like that again. Not for that long."

Kairi pressed her fingers against his cheek. "I think we should just own up to it. We can't be apart—we just can't. Namine can vouches on my behalf. I'm sad and stupid without you. We can't be apart."

Sora laughed a little; it was deep and happy, just like Kairi remembered it being. "Think the Dean would buy that?"

"Probably not."

He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Kairi's nose. "I'm not letting you go. Not again. We might have to just sneak away. Run off to the lighthouse and live there."

Kairi's throat tightened as memories flickered through their mind. "Not the lighthouse," She whispered, explaining once she saw Sora's confused expression. "I went there one day. They found it—it's wrecked. They trashed it."

Sora let out a groan. "They must have—_shit._ They must have searched the place, looking for where I ran off to whenever I'd leave campus." His voice was dark, scary. "How wrecked was it?"

Kairi's voice was quiet, timid. "Bad."

He sounded dangerous again. "Your lighthouse…"

She frowned, peering up at him with my confusion. "_My_ lighthouse?"

Despite the darkness, when Sora blushed slightly it was horrendously noticeable. His eyes flickered from his hands to Kairi's eyes. "Well, yeah. It's yours." He paused. "The second you walked into that place, I lost ownership. It's all yours. I'm all yours. Take me."

Kairi blushed, grinning from ear to ear. "Okay," She whispered, pressing her lips to his quickly and softly. "You're mine."

Then, Sora's face twisted up into an odd expression, one that Kairi wasn't used to seeing on the charming boy: one of fear, nervousness, shyness. "Okay," Sora huffed out. His words were short, forced. His eyes didn't meet Kairi's. "Look. Don't take this in a creepy way—or, you know what? Don't even respond. Just don't."

"Sora, wha—"

"_Shh._" He spat. Sora flinched, shaking his head. "That was mean, sorry. Just…let me say this. And please, don't reply."

Kairi blinked, waiting silently.

Sora closed his eyes, looking a bit bothered. He stayed like that for a minute, laying there with his eyes closed facing Kairi, before he licked his lips and sputtered out, "I love you." There was another pause. "Don't respond. Don't say anything. Please."

Kairi searched his face, drinking in every bit of his features, her lips spreading into a wide, shy grin. Her stomach began to flutter, every nerve in her body firing and tingling. She _wanted_ to respond. But, since he'd asked her not to, she simply resorted to snuggling her head into the crook between his chest and neck, wrapping her hands around his waist and tracing little patterns on his skin as she cuddled into him.

Sora was surprised by this; for some reason, ever since he was a kid, he'd only ever imagined the moment he said _the big three_ turning out badly. Having her body nestled into his seemed like a good reaction, and he curled into her, pressing little kisses all the way from her lips down to her collarbone.

They lay in bed for a long while, staying silent for the most part, just enjoying one another's breathing. It was that comfortable silence again, the one that had first caught Kairi off guard when they'd met; it was sweet, quiet and warm and easy. They were like two puzzle pieces that just _fit._ Apart, they weren't anything—but together, they painted a beautiful kind of picture.

And then, Kairi glanced at the clock and realized that she had only an hour to pack for her trip, get to the bus, signed on and seated and begin her winter break.

* * *

Sora frowned at the two pieces of fabric in his hands. "Which one?"

Kairi, who was across the room violently throwing articles of clothing into a messy suitcase, cried out, "The pink one!"

"They're both pink."

"Sora—for god's sake, I asked for the _pink_ dress. How hard can it be?"

He made a face at the two dresses in his arms. "Really hard when you've got more than one."

Kairi pulled away from what she was focusing on and turned to him; her eyes narrowed. "That's _violet_, Sora. Don't you know your colors?"

"What the hell is violet?" He hissed under his breath, raising the dresses and bringing them closer to his eyes. Maybe he was color blind. "All I see is pink."

"Such a boy. Just chuck me the one in your left hand."

Sora tossed her the left one. "What now, boss?"

Kairi snatched the dress, rolled it up messily, and stuffed it in the already overflowing suitcase. "Underwear—top drawer of the dresser. Grab some and stuff it in here."

Sora opened the top drawer of the dresser. "What colors?"

"It's underwear, Sora. Color doesn't matter."

"Apparently _violet_ mattered."

"_Sora._"

Unable to prevent it, his cheeks burnt a deep red as he peered down at the display of underwear, but he ignored it. He sifted through the drawer, picking out what he thought had the nicest colors and then made his way over to Kairi, offering them to her on his palm. "My favourite ones," He hummed, giving her a wink.

Kairi took them from him, turning her back on him to place them nicely in the suitcase. "Is it a coincidence that they're all the skimpiest ones I have?"

Sora grinned, coming up to her from behind; he wrapped his arms around her waist and placed his chin on her shoulder, watching her pack. His lips were beside her ear; when he spoke, shivers ran down her spine. "I don't want you to go," He whispered quietly.

Kairi leaned back into him, stopping packing. It hardly seemed fair, now; why was it that she had to wait for so long, be sad for so long and then _finally_ they see one another, and she had to leave? She wanted to stay, she wanted to spend her entire break laughing with him and having a good time. She didn't want to say goodbye to Sora—she was far too scared that it might be the last time.

"I know," Kairi breathed, looking down at her messy suitcase sadly.

Sora pulled his head back, pressing his forehead against her back for a minute. "It feels scary knowing you're leaving."

She turned, pulling Sora's arms over her shoulders and pushing herself up onto her tippy-toes so that they were nearly the same height. "Come with me," Kairi begged, blue eyes desperate. "Come with me on the bus. My dad won't mind—I can show you my little town, my little house, my beach. We won't have to be apart. The Dean can't hurt you if you're not here."

His eyebrows pulled down. "That's what you're worried about? The Dean hurting me?"

Kairi held his gaze. "I'm scared that if I leave—when I come back, you'll be trapped again, or worse." She sniffed, shaking her head. "And I wouldn't even know."

"Don't be scared about that," He whispered, trying to soothe Kairi's apparent worry. "It'll be okay. She can't hurt me. It's okay."

Kairi traced her hands down Sora's slim stomach, gripping his waist tightly. "Come with me," She begged again. "Please, please, please. Don't leave me—not now. I need you with me."

"The Dean will know if I'm gone," Sora whispered, trying to calm Kairi down whilst trying to talk sense into her. "They're looking for me right now, probably headed to your dorm as we speak—if I don't stay here for break she'll be even more pissed. She'll come down on us even harder."

Tears welled in Kairi's eyes; the idea of Sora being stolen from her again seemed like a sick joke. "Please," Kairi whimpered. "_Please, Sora._ Please, please, please don't leave me." The wetness in her eyes slipped down her cheek.

Sora wiped the tears away, feeling like his own chest might burst. "Okay," He nodded. "If that's—if you want me to." Sora sucked in a small breath, letting out a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "I belong to you now, remember? I guess I don't really have a choice."

If the situation were any different, Kairi would've laughed. Instead, she just clung to him, hugging herself to his bare chest. Before sending Sora off to Namine's room to pick some clothes from Roxas' reserves—it was too dangerous to go back to his own dorm for clothes; he suspected security would be tight there if they'd caught on he was missing—Kairi whispered one more sentence, her voice so shaky that Sora was sure his heart almost broke.

"You make me feel safe."

* * *

Within ten minutes, they were running through the snowy campus for the bus; Sora was diving ahead, dragging Kairi behind by her hand, laughing at her and telling her how slow she was. They crossed campus in record time, making it to the bus with one minute to spare. They found a nice seat—the bus was nearly empty since it was the last one—near the back, and Kairi took a seat while Sora tossed the bags above in the compartment. Then, they sat back and watched the school roll out of sight as they made their way down the northern exit off campus. And then, Sora was hit with a sudden, horrifying realization.

He was going to have to meet Kairi's father.


	26. Chapter 26

**Author's Note: **_Thanks for all those who have been commenting and reading! This chapter's pretty short, but only because I felt it didn't transition smoothly into the scenario of the next one. Next chapters should be up very shortly, so look out for them!_

_(P.S: for the commenter asking where Ven is, he's not really in the story. However, for those who may have been paying very close attention and reading between the lines a bit,_ _Roxas' older brother is the one who always picks him up from campus. That brother may or may not look nearly identical to Roxas-it's all depending on how you wanna interpret the story. But in my mind, yes, Roxas' older brother is in fact Ven._)

_ Thanks so much and please keep commenting!_

* * *

As Kairi had grown up, Greg, her father, had never had to really worry about her, particularly in the whole business of dating.

Although Kairi always insisted it was because no boys liked her—which the entire town knew wasn't true; Kairi was one of the most popular, and, if he was going to boast, prettiest girls around—Greg always assumed it was because she was far more mature than her peers. While her friends were out, dating and breaking up and dealing with teenage dramas, Kairi preferred to stay out of it; she'd be there if her friends needed a lending hand, needed to cry about a boy, but she never got mixed up in any of it. She'd never had a boyfriend. Hell, Kairi had never even really shown interest in anyone. On Friday nights, she'd stay in and do her homework at the kitchen table, then watch sports on television beside her father.

Kairi's lack of interest in dating and romance enabled Greg to glide through those years blissfully calm. While his work buddies complained about the boys their daughters were dating, Greg could only stay quiet and pretend to understand; every night he would thank his lucky stars that his beautiful, wonderful daughter happened to have her future success in life prioritized over kissing cute boys. This all meant that Greg's fatherly over protectiveness never really had it's time to shine—Kairi always took care of herself. She never needed her dad to be her guard, to filter through her romantic interests.

So, the second he saw Kairi hop off the damn bus, spiky haired boy in tow, he knew the jig was up. _He'd had a good run_, he thought to himself. He'd prolonged the inevitable, and finally it had come back to bite him in the ass.

As Kairi ran up to hug him, any ounce of hope he had that this boy was just a friend evaporated into thin air. Even as she grinned up at him, Greg was acutely aware of how her body turned, twisting as if this strange boy was her centre of gravity. She moved as he moved—or, maybe it was the other way around. Either way, the time bomb that had been ticking inside of Greg for the past seventeen years finally exploded in his brain, igniting the protective fires in his belly.

_Kairi was in love._

She stepped back, loving grin on her lips as she looked up at her father. She'd missed him. "You look good," She gushed, laughing. "The whole salt and pepper look really works on you."

Greg smirked, but it was a bit stiff. It was hard to think when Kairi's eyes constantly flickered to that damn boy beside her. "Ouch, lady. Ease off on the old age jabs." There was a pause, and his eyes flashed over to the boy. "Is this a friend?"

Kairi's eyes widened, and she swallowed. She glanced at Sora, then her father. "Yeah—a, um, friend." Sucking in a breath, she continued. "This is Sora. See, I wanted to try and call you to tell you, but there's no communication up at the Academy, you know that—he's got no place to go, and I couldn't let him just sit up in his dorm all break, so I said he could join us. Can, um…can he?"

Greg looked at the young man, eyes narrowing as he searched him over. He was tall, nearly as tall as Greg himself, and stood with a straight posture; the boy's right hand dangled at his side—bruised knuckles obvious despite the dim light—and his left was tucked behind Kairi's back, most likely intertwined with hers. There was a deep gash on the top of Sora's nose; the rest of his nose was raw looking. Bruises were beginning to splash across his skin, sprawling out from the bottom of his nose, working up the bridge and then etching out towards his left eye—the beginning stages of a potentially nasty black eye. Greg, a local fisherman who often volunteered for the police force, knew exactly what those injuries meant and what had caused them. This boy had recently been in a violent, bloody fight.

And if he could have his way, Greg would have said no right then and there. _No, this boy cannot come. No, you cannot hold his hand. No, you cannot speak to him ever again._ But he gave one more look to Kairi and saw the pleading in her eyes, the desperation and begging, and he broke down, huffing out a sigh.

"Of course," He replied darkly. "You're _friends_ are always welcome." Greg looked to Sora.

Sora didn't drop the gaze, his eyes filled with absolute fear. He'd never really been good at this—at meeting the parents. And he knew he'd be even worse with Kairi, the one person who really mattered.

"Dad—you're the best," Kairi grinned, turning to Sora, her voice quieting so much that she practically breathed the words at him. "You can come—we can be together."

And then, the fear seemed to slip from Sora's mind; his blue eyes blinked at her, filling with absolute adoration and awe, and once again he realized how awfully, badly and terribly he was in love with her.

Greg saw. Greg's eyes narrowed. Greg's chest tightened as he repeated a single word over and over in his mind.

_Shit._


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Note**: _everyone please prepare yourself for horny sora hahahahahahaha_

* * *

When they'd arrived at the house in Port Risio, Sora was pleasantly surprised to find that it fit Kairi's descriptions word for word. The house was just as she'd said—small in diameter but towering up three stories—and was sitting flat out on the beach. It was a lonesome little house, quite a far bit away from all of the others that were oceanside, but it seemed to suit it; it was a little whimsical escape, alone and independent from the rest. Despite feeling as if there was no one else around for miles, the place was only a five minute walk to the centre of the town; Kairi promised that the next day, after they were thoroughly rested, they would go explore the place and she could introduce him to her friends.

Kairi's father—although rather unhappy at the idea of leaving Kairi and Sora alone and out of sight—headed to bed the second they had made it, stating that he desperately needed some sleep so that he could at least pretend to be productive the next morning at work. Kairi waved him off, glad to have a chance to be alone with Sora in the comfort of her home.

Sora found the inside of the place to be just as wonderful as the outside. It was sort of mishy-mashy, a mixture of random things. There was no real color scheme, no real design aspect to it—it was random artifacts and gifts and things that they'd acquired over the years. The walls were all covered in framed photos; for a long while they walked about the house and Kairi explained who the people were—mostly folks from Port Riz, her friends and their loved ones—and the scenarios in which the photos were taken. The place was cozy—and Sora couldn't help but notice how much it _felt_ like Kairi.

For the next couple hours, since the two teenagers weren't the slightest bit sleepy, they stayed up late and went through old photo albums that had been stored away in a closet. Sora was fascinated by the photos, absolutely dazed by the pictures of a young Kairi. He found it an odd idea, her living a separate life before he'd come along. To him, it felt like he hadn't lived at all before meeting Kairi. But it was incredible—seeing her little and smiling and happy as if she didn't have a care in the world. In the pictures, she got older. She got taller and a bit curvier and suddenly she wasn't this cute little girl, she was beautiful—and she was smiling and she was with her friends and laughing. And it sort of made Sora feel good, knowing that while his life had been falling apart, Kairi's had been falling together.

And then, somehow, they ended up kissing, which is what they always ended up doing. Maybe it was because Kairi liked the taste of his mouth or because Sora was still horny as shit—which Kairi liked to tease, much to his dismay—but they both seemed pleasantly happy making out on her couch, trying to keep quiet as to not wake her father. Kairi figured that this was as good as it got for her: being at home with the boy she was horribly, disgustingly in love with and trying to secretly fool around on the couch. Sora, on the other hand, was far too sexually frustrated by Kairi to even think in proper sentences.

And then, in their excitement, Kairi's hand accidentally bumped into Sora's eye—the one that had begun to swell and bruise so terribly—sending him into a fit of swearing, muffled groans and grunts of pain.

* * *

Kairi sat on the bathroom countertop, grimacing as she looked at Sora, who stood in between her dangling legs. "How bad is it?"

Sora's face was scrunched up, his eyes snapped closed as he tried to control himself. He wanted to shout out in agony, let out a cry or a grunt or swear some more, but Kairi's father was sleeping and he didn't want to wake Greg up. "It's…" He hissed, feeling like punching something—_anything—_to take the pain away from his face, "…not that bad."

Kairi knew he was lying. She huffed out a heavy breath, expression twisted up in guilt. "I'm so sorry, Sora, I didn't mean to—"

His eyes were still closed. His words were quiet. "It's fine."

"No, it's not—god, you're nose is getting all swollen and black, and you're eyes getting worse—"

Sora didn't open his eyes, his face still twisted up in the horror of the pain. "Kairi, I'm fine."

"—Maybe I should get some ice—"

His eyes snapped open, resulting in another flash of pain quickly spreading from the far corner of his left eye, to the bridge of his nose, and down towards the raw skin above his lip. Sora let out a grunt of pain, flinching; another round of shocking stabs flew through his skin. He rolled his head to the side, trying to bear the pain. Sora muttered out, "Kairi, I'm fine—I promise," before sputtering a groan of misery.

Knowing that she was the essential cause of his pain, Kairi felt incredibly horrible; her eyes—big, blue and sad—looked up at him, and she put her hands on either side of his cheeks, making him look at her. She looked closely at the wounds, noticing how badly they'd gotten over the course of a few hours: nose was more swollen, and his left eye was definitely turning a bit of a nasty purple color. She let out a sad sigh. "Poor baby," She murmured. "I'm sorry."

Sora's words were grunts. "Not—your—fault."

"I punched you, Sora."

"Not on purpose, though." He forced the words; they were blunt and harsh.

"Any way I can make it better?"

"I'd say kiss it better," Sora muttered, "But I think you'd only wound me more."

Kairi let out a sad laugh. "Don't be mean—I'm really sorry."

Sora's big hand slid down to her waist. "I know you are. Quit apologizing."

"I'm _really_ sorry."

He pressed his forehead against her neck, being careful about his nose and eye region. Sora let out a muffled groan into her skin. "Shut up."

Kairi's arms wound around his neck and she cuddled him against her, giving him a soft kiss at the back of his neck and whimpering, "So sorry."

Sora let out a groan—it was different than the previous few. This one was lower, deeper, more gravelly. "God—don't kiss me there."

She froze, a childish grin flickering onto her face. She leaned down, kissing him in the same spot, slower and longer this time. "Where? There?"

His grip on her waist tightened, and he let out a dark moan. He stepped forward, into Kairi so that more of his body was pressed against hers, as well as the countertop. "Stop—don't."

Kairi snorted, leaning back and giggling; Sora peered up at her with desperation in his eyes. "Holy shit, Sora—you're hornier than I thought!"

"Quit laughing. You don't know how frustrating it is to be in a room with you right now."

"So…what you're saying is that I have complete and utter control of you?"

He dropped his head again, nuzzling into her neck as if he were trying to hide. "I hate you," He snarled. "This is a _very_ evil thing to do, especially after punching me in the eye."

"You said it wasn't my fault!"

"Only because I didn't want you to feel bad," He teased, "But let's be honest—if you hadn't done that I would be perfectly fine right now."

"That's it—I'm controlling you."

"_Kairi._"

She smiled sweetly. "It's not my fault you're weak."

"Kai—" He began, but Kairi leaned down and kissed his neck again so softly, and the breath slammed out of his lungs as if he'd been punched in the gut. "Oh no."

Kairi's expression twisted into one of extreme amusement, and she let out a little laugh. Her hands slipped down from around his neck, slowly tracing down his chest, and resting on his hips. She leaned down and kissed the back of his neck, leaving small, fluttery kisses all the way up to his earlobe. "How's that?" She whispered.

His voice was a strangled cry. "Kairi, _god_," He groaned, "You've gotta—gotta—um…_stop._ Stop, stop, stop."

"Nah," She shrugged. "This is too much fun."

"_Evil_," Sora hissed through his teeth.

Kairi bit his neck softly, sucking on the skin; Sora moaned horribly, trying to keep his voice down so that Greg wouldn't hear. His breath became a bit ragged and Kairi started to laugh, so she pulled away, leaving a few small soft kisses on the now tender, red flesh.

"Sorry," She whispered against the fresh hickey. "Hope that didn't hurt too much."

Sora pulled away suddenly, nearly knocking Kairi over; he pushed his arms out, holding her waist with one hand and tying her wrists above her head with the other. His blue eyes were dark, almost angry—more frustrated than anything—looking, and his voice was a low growl. "Unless you want me to blow my load in these jeans," He snarled, "You better stop."

Kairi snorted, smiling at him sweetly. "I didn't think you were that hot and bothered," She noted, then let out a laugh. "You were squirming there, for a bit—I didn't know you were a squirmer."

Sora let out an exasperated cry, then opened the washroom door and left, muttering things under his breath. Kairi laughed to herself, then hopped off of the counter happily, trailing after the boy. Following the lights he'd flicked on, Kairi found him sitting on one of the bar stools in the kitchen, his head face down on the island and a cold cloth against his neck.

She sat beside him, pretty satisfied with herself. "How ya feeling?"

He let out a growl.

"Aw, don't be such a grump," She said, grinning. She began rubbing his back in an attempt to console him.

Sora flinched away from her. "Don't—look, you're not gonna wanna touch me for a solid ten minutes, okay?"

Kairi made a face. "Why?"

He hesitated. "Wouldn't want to, y'know…let the genie out of the bottle."

"Oh." Kairi mouthed, then glanced at him a bit guiltily. She supposed it wasn't very fair, what she'd just done—I mean, she'd already punched him in the face and then totally worked him up when he was already struggling to control himself. "Want a glass of cold water?"

"Please."

Kairi gave him another apologetic look despite the fact that he wouldn't even turn to face her, and stood up, running the cold water and capturing it in a cup. She placed it on the island beside his head, then took two steps back, giving him a free zone.

Sora tilted his head up, blue eyes big and upset; he chugged the cold water, gave Kairi another look—she could only compare it to a puppy when it was guilty of doing something naughty—and put his head back down.

The entire thing was hilarious to her. Maybe it was because she didn't have a penis that could explode at any moment, or maybe it was because she simply wasn't nearly as frustrated as Sora was, but looking at the sad little puppy dog boy with his head smack down on the counter made her laugh. "I'm sorry, Sora," she murmured, then giggled out. "If I could come over and give you an apologetic kiss, I would."

He let out a deep chuckle, but it was still strained. "I love you and all, but _please._ Never do that again."

"I won't. Promise."

"_Good_," Sora mumbled, words sounding a bit strangled.

Kairi pushed herself off of the counter. "Come on," she said, grabbing his hand and tugging him up from his seat. "C'mon—let's head to bed, even if it is for a few hours."

Sora followed behind without complaint. He didn't mind the idea of laying down somewhere and having a nap, especially after _that_.

She pulled him up to the second floor, to a door at the end of the hallway. "You're bedroom, prince charming. It's mine—I'll be sleeping in the spare room," She offered with a grin. "We've gotta sleep separate—you know, dad's rules."

Sora shrugged, but nodded. "Alright."

Kairi tried not to laugh too hard when she looked up at him. "You go in there and—you know—_do what you gotta do._"

He made a face down at her, smirking. "Are you instructing me to go get off in your bedroom?"

She nodded, blushing slightly. "If it makes you feel better."

Sora leaned down, pressing his lips against hers. "I love you," He mumbled, although it sounded more like a growl against her lips, his words muffled.

Kairi kissed back, then pushed him away slightly, hands on his hips. "Okay, Romeo—save all that romance for yourself."

He snarled at her.

Kairi leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him one more time, sweetly and quickly, then stepped away. "I love you, you horny bastard."

"Have a good sleep."

"Of course." She laughed. "You too."

They stood there, on opposite ends of the hallway for a bit, just looking at one another. Then, they both gave a nod and went into their opposite rooms, both glad that they would wake up to see each other in the morning.


End file.
